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/^ImprouementlEra 


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J    ,«p 


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SYMBOL  of  SERVICE 


In  1921  Radio  Station  KSL  began 
broadcasting.  A  few  scattered  listen- 
ers with  crystal  sets  listened.  First  as 
KZN,  then  as  KFPT,  finally  as  KSL  the 
listening  audience  grew. 

Today  KSL's  50,000-watt  signal  is 
heard  literally  around  the  world. 

In  these  twenty  years,  KSL  has  kept 
pace  with  the  demands  of  its  listeners. 
Today,  the  call  letters  "KSL"  are  a  sym- 
bol of  service  to  everyone  who  tunes 


in  his  radio.  Expert  planning  of  pro- 
grams, careful  production  of  every  mo- 
ment of  radio  time  makes  possible  a 
presentation  designed  to  serve  the  lis- 
tening preferences  of  KSL's  entire  lis- 
tening audience. 

During  1941,  as  for  every  year,  KSL 
dedicates  its  broadcasting  schedule  to 
those  who  listen — a  service  which 
makes  the  call  letters  "KSL"  first  stop 
on  listening  dials  everywhere. 


50,000  Watts 


1130  Kilocycles 


ANCIENT 
AMERICA 

IN  THE  LIGHT  OF  RECENT  FINDINGS 
By  CHARLES  E.  DIBBLE 

Dr.  S.  G.  Morley  (dean  of  Mayan 
scholars )  in  recent  writings  states 
that  about  one  hundred  fifty 
Mayan  glyphs  have  been  deciphered. 
They  deal  primarily  with  the  calendar 
and  astronomy.  There  remain  approxi- 
mately three  hundred  undeciphered 
glyphs.    To  quote  Dr.  Morley: 

Whatever  their  significance  may  be,  it  is 
the  same  everywhere;  that  is  to  say,  they 
must  treat  of  matters  common  to  all,  such 
as  generally  accepted  astronomy  and  the 
common  religious  philosophy  arising  there- 
from, and  not  of  purely  local  matters. 
Throughout  the  Maya  area,  the  unde- 
ciphered glyphs  deal  with  an  extremely 
limited  subject  matter  and  are  essentially 
homogeneous. 

Recent  anthropological  research  re- 
veals ever-increasing  evidence  of  cul- 
tural and  material  exchange  in  Indian 
America.  Middle  American  design 
motifs  (such  as  death  symbols,  feath- 
ered serpents,  etc. )  appear  in  southeast- 
ern United  States  (Alabama  and  Mis- 
sissippi ) ;  gold  ornaments  from  Colom- 
bia appear  in  Chichen  Itza,  Yucatan; 
goldwork  from  Peru  has  been  found 
in  Guatemala  and  southern  Mexico; 
ball  courts,  similar  to  those  in  Central 
America,  appear  in  Arizona. 

This  sketch  is  of  a  Mayan  inscription 
showing  a  series  of  deciphered  glyphs. 
Deciphered,  they  recorded  a  date 
1,411,200  days  after  a  starting  date  4 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,    JANUARY,    1941 


Ahau  8  Cumhu  (3113  B.  C).  The  date 
recorded  on  this  inscription  is  751  A.  D. 
( Goodman  -  Thompson  correlation ) . 
The  decipherable  part  of  Mayan  re- 
cordings consists  mainly  of  similar  or 
related  glyphs. 


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MMMM&&M 


Be  sure  to  get  complete  protection 
for  your  car's  costly  engine  parts  when  you  change 
—  You  need  a  fast-flowing,  winter 
grade  oil  that's  tough  J8/  enough  to  stand  up 
under  terrific  engine  heat,  yet  protects  even  in  zero 
weather.  YlCO  winter-grade  motor  oil  gives 
you  just  that  kind  of  protection. 
Drive  in  at  the  sign  of  service. 


*:■'■■ 


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'mW^^&^^^W§^ 


C.p-;. 

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wgim- 


MOTOR  OIL 


PEP88 

GASOLINE 


jQ    iADJLUL,  JiJlUlItJCL&L.  and  loved  ones  away  from  home- 
There  is  no  better  way  of  keeping  them  close  to  home  and  church  ties. 

Send  the  ERA 


Built  to  Last! 

All  Hardwood 
Durable  Brown  Walnut  Finish 

10-Inch      12-Inch     and      14-Inch 
Heights 

Utah-Idaho  School  Supply  Co. 


155  So.  State  St. 


Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 


/MmprooementEra 


"The  Glory   of  God   is  Intelligence' 


JANUARY,     1941 


VOLUME    44 


NUMBE  R    1 


UTHE  VOICE  OF  THE  CHURCH" 

OFFICIAL  ORGAN  OF  THE  PRIESTHOOD  QUORUMS, 
MUTUAL  IMPROVEMENT  ASSOCIATIONS,  DEPART- 
MENT OF  EDUCATION,  MUSIC  COMMITTEE,  WARD 
TEACHERS,  AND  OTHER  AGENCIES  OF  THE  CHURCH 
OF     JESUS    CHRIST     OF     LATTER-DAY     SAINTS. 


Heber  J.  Grant, 
John  A.  Widtsoe, 

Editors 
Richard  L.  Evans, 

Managing  Editor 
Marba  C.  Josephson, 

Associate  Editor 

George  Q.  Morris,  General  Mgr. 
Lucy  G.  Cannon,  Associate  Mgr, 
J.   K.  Orton,  Business  Mgr. 


JobliL  #(L  ConhwiA. 


JhsL  £diitfbL  (poqsL 

Settlement 


Heber  J.  Grant     9 


Greetings  of  the  First  Presidency...-- 8 

Wellsprings  of  Life Melvin  J.  Ballard  10 

Andrew  Jenson - Albert  L.  Zobell,  Jr*  12 

Concerning  Marriage.- J.  Reuben  Clark,  Jr.  19 

Chemical  Aspects  of  the  Word  of  Wisdom M.  J.  Miles  26 

The  "Before  and  After"  of  Church  Beautification 28 

Evidences  and  Reconciliations — XXXIIL    What  is  the  Mean- 
ing of  the  Title,  "Prophet,  Seer,  and  Revelator"? 

John  A.  Widtsoe  33 

Why  I  Go  to  Church,  Joseph  J.  Genealogy 44 

Anderson 18       Tolerance,  George  A.  Baker 44 

Whole-hearted  Leadership,  Fred  Music 45 

Oliver   18 

Line  Upon  Line,  Earl  Lyman  Col- 
lins   22 

Ledgers,  James  P.  Sharp  23 

Word  of  Wisdom  Review 

26,  38,  42 

Church  Moves  On 30 

Priesthood:     Melchizedek 38 

Aaronic  42 

Ward  Teaching  43 


SfixiciaL  ^suduMA, 


Mutual    Messages:      Executives, 

New  Year's  Greeting,  46 

Special  Interest  47 

M  Men-Gleaners  47 

Explorers    48 

Juniors  48 

Scouts 48 

Bee-Hive  Girls  50 

Field  Photos 46,  47,  49,  50 

Heeding    the   Warning,  Weston 
N.   Nordgren  51 


Easy  Terms Ira  J.  Markham  13 

Orrin  Porter  Rockwell — Chapters  III,  IV -Nicholas  Van  Alfen  14 

Hobbies E.  J.  Sorensen  16 

Five  Years  on  the  San  Juan William  Mulder  20 


Ancient  America,  Charles  E. 
Dibble  - 1 

Exploring  the  Universe,  Franklin 
S.  Harris,  Jr 4 

Telefacts 4,  5 

Inventory,  Grace  Yoneko  Oki- 
moto    — 1 9 

Looking  Back  at  Ancient  Amer- 
ica, William  and  Dewey 
Farnsworth  22 

If,  Jack  Sears 23 


On  the  Book  Rack 35 

Homing:        What      Are      Your 

Words  Worth?  M.  G  Addi- 
son   - 36 

Handy  Hints 36 

Cooks'  Corner,  Barbara  Badger 

Burnett    36 

Index  to  Advertisers - 37 

William    C.    Clive,    Harold    H. 

Jenson 5 1 

Your  Page  and  Ours  64 


£dijt&ucd&. 


Escape Richard  L.  Evans  32 

This  Day Marba  C.  Josephson  32 


SioiieA.,  (paribus,  Qjwmw&uL  (Pu%$Isl 

Orrin  Porter  Rockwell— Chapters  III,  IV.    The  True  Story  of 

a  Man Nicholas  Van  Alfen 

Sweet  and  Sophisticated John  Sherman  Walker 

Frontispiece:  The  Designer,  Ed- 
na S.  Dustin  7 

Poetry  Page 29 


14 

24 


JPul  fovstiu 


The  Gleaner's  New  Year,  Linnie 

F.  Robinson  50 

Scriptural  Crossword  Puzzle 62 

Metamorphosis,  Hugh  B.  Brown..63 


*  I  'his  is  offered  as  a  symbol  of  the  New  Year,  with  old  trails  left  behind,  and  new  trails, 
*    yet  to  be  made  into  places  not  yet  traversed.    The  photograph  is  by  Ray  Atkeson. 
2 


(Do  QJdjjl  JOwjv- 

With  what  subjects  the  deciphered 
Mayan  glyphs  chiefly  deal? 1 

How  far  New  York  City's  Empire 
State  Building  sways  in  a  wind?—  4 

How  much  a  tenth  is  when  that  tenth 
is  owed  you — and  how  much  when 
you  owe  it?  9 

Three  basic  laws  which  constitute 
the  wellsprings  of  life? 10 

How  a  boy  and  a  girl,  strangers  to 
each  other,  found  romance  at  the 
crossroads  of  a  remote  western 
valley?    10 

For  how  many  years  Andrew  Jenson 
has  faithfully  kept  a  diary? 12 

What  "easy  terms"  led  one  young 
man  to  discover — sooner  than  he 
expected?   13 

Why  Porter  Rockwell  wore  his  hair 
long? 14 

Whether  "collectomania"  is  a  disease 
or  a  tonic?  16 

How  to  defend  the  habit  of  going  to 
church? 18 

What  a  character  inventory  might 
prompt  you  to  put  up  for  "sale"?   19 

Where  Mormon  colonists  were  re- 
peatedly flooded  out  in  their  effort 
to  found  a  settlement? ,__  20 

Where  further  evidences  of  the 
grandeur  of  ancient  America  are 
being  uncovered?    22 

The  story  of  the  woman  who  always 
had  her  tithing  crop  stolen? 23 

How,  chemically  speaking,  alcohol 
scars  the  nervous  system? 26 

What  Cache  Stake  has  done  in  the 
Church  beautification  program?   28 

Who  has  been  appointed  Church 
secretary  for  finance? 30 

The  particular  significance  of  the 
title  "Prophet,  Seer,  and  Reve- 
lator"?     33 

How  to  remove  ink  from  cloth  with- 
out leaving  a  stain?  36 

What  the  Panguitch  Stake  Third 
Quorum  of  Elders  has  accom- 
plished recently?  39 

How  a  woman's  forgetfulness  led  to 
a  rich  genealogical  treasure? 44 

What  pioneer  musician,  still  living, 


has    been 
home"?  ... 


content    to    serve      at 


51 


EXECUTIVE   AND   EDITORIAL 
OFFICES: 

50  North  Main  Street,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 
Copyright  1941.  by  Mutual  Funds,  Inc.,  a  Cor- 
poration  of  the  Young  Men's  Mutual  Improve- 
ment Association  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
of  Latter-day  Saints.  All  rights  reserved.  Sub- 
scription price,  $2.00  a  year,  in  advance;  20c 
single  copy. 

Entered  at  the  Post  Office,  Salt  Lake  City, 
Utah,  as  second-class  matter.  Acceptance  for 
mailing  at  special  rate  of  postage  provided 
for  in  section  1103,  Act  of  October,  1917, 
authorized  July  2,  1918. 

The  Improvement  Era  is  not  responsible 
for  unsolicited  manuscripts,  but  welcomes  con- 
tributions. All  manuscripts  must  be  accompanied 
by  sufficient  postage  for  delivery  and  return. 

NATIONAL  ADVERTISING 
REPRESENTATIVES 

Francis  M.  Mayo,  Salt  Lake  City 
Edward  S.  Townsend,  San  Francisco 

MEMBER  OF  THE  AUDIT  BUREAU  OF 
CIRCULATIONS 


A  MAGAZINE  FOR  EVERY 
MEMBER  OF  THE   FAMILY 


,     m  Reporter  *«•"  .<  M— * 
A  Safeway  *«•£*  Farmers 

„    .  ,  s,ood,  on  Clarence  f^g^vSW, 

could  see  uic  SOuth.  Rimmea  "' .     r  tue  Great 


Celery  looks  like  a 
good  cash  crop 


says  Clarence 
Durrant  of  Utah 


ail 


1'  c^B^^j^r^s 


can  irrigate  often.  ?w  |  asked 

^TlL  market  for  V"  <^'big  cel=,v 
.-Got  a  g»»°  m     .    k  Aete,  to^^e  seldom 

"*"'  "Mrt'ta JSSn.  «heBSowA^eryBto 
shipments  s«"  ("m  other  areas.  So  utan  taeS, 

olained.  "Planting  fof- «         „,  acre.  But  it       » 


r    ^ 


■x9§3 


Several  artesian  wells  make  irrigation  water  plentiful  on 
the  Durrant  place.  40  acres  are  in  grain,  50  acres  in  alfalfa 
seed  and  hay,  25  acres  in  alfalfa  for  hay  only,  and  some 
fallow.  The  family  keeps  about  25  milking  cows.  "The 
milk  check  gives  us  our  living  expenses,"  said  Mr.  Dur- 
rant. "The  alfalfa  seed  pays  running  costs  on  the  farm — 
and  with  any  left  over  we  buy  a  new  piece  of  equipment. 
Once  we  really  get  our  celery  underway  it  should  give  us 
a  little  for  the  proverbial  rainy  day.  I've  got  to  do  well 
with  celery — just  recently  they  made  me  president  of 
the  Utah  Celery  Cooperative  Association" 


D.  O.  Dastrup  is  manager  of 

the  Safeway  store  in  Provo 

where   the  Durrants   trade. 

"With  seven  young  children 

we  naturally  have  to  get  the 

most  for  our  money — you 

bet  we  trade  at  Safeway," 

Mr.  Durrant  told  me 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,    JANUARY,    1941 


PAR  SOAP 

Contains  "Pyro" 

It's  hard  to  believe,  perhaps,  that  a  soap 
that's  so  rough  on  dirt  could  be  so  gentle 
with  clothes  .  .  .  even  the  most  delicate 
of  fabrics.  But  it's  true  of  PAR!  Par  also 
contains  "Pyro"  to  insure  free  rinsing  and 
prevent  scum  and  wash-tub  ring. 

PAR  SOAP 

Contains  Glycerine 

PAR  would  be  easy  on  your  hands,  even 
without  glycerine.  But  this  "hand-lotion 
ingredient"  makes  it  even  kinder  to 
smooth,  tender  skin.  So  get  PAR  at  your 
grocer's. 


IN 

2 

SIZES 


Regular"  and  "Giant" 


IN  LOS  ANGELES 


1IXANDWA  Hotel 

5th  at  Spring 
Tariff  from  S2. 50 


Recognized  Utah  Headquarters  in 
Los  Angeles 

CLAYTON   V.    SMITH,    Managing   Director 
Formerly  of  Salt  Lake  City 

m    >q<    >n<    >n<    ini    >n<    >n< >n<   >o<~  ] 

J  jo  yauUL  JiJibundA, 

and  loved  ones  away  from  home — 

Send  the  ERA 

There  is  no  better  way  of  keeping  them  close 
to  home  and  church  ties. 

z=r>o<rz3o< >o^=>o<:^^o< 


fcxpdouru^  thsL  IAjuvsmsl 


By  Franklin  S.  Hards,  Jr. 

A    football  helmet  with  a  molded 
plastic  shell  and  lined  with  padding 
is  a  new  application  of  plastics. 

4 

P)ew,  rather  than  the  ultra-violet  rays 
*"^  in  sunshine,  seems  to  be  the  most 
important  factor  in  the  failure  and  de- 
terioration of  automobile  paint.  By  put- 
ting their  cars  in  garages  at  night  auto- 
mobile owners  can  prevent  dew  from 
falling  on  the  body.  Tests  in  Florida 
found  the  exposure  from  midnight 
until  noon  was  harder  on  the  finish  than 
from  noon  to  midnight,  suggesting  that 
dew  followed  by  sunshine  was  the 
cause.  Rain  did  not  have  the  same 
effect  as  dew. 


tacked,  the  crab  wards  off  its  enemy 
with  the  stinging  tentacles  of  the  ane- 
mones, and  when  the  polyps  of  the 
anemones  capture  food,  the  crab  takes 
the  morsel  from  their  grasp  and  trans- 
fers it  to  its  own  mouth. 


As  many  as  a  hundred  million  dirt 
"^  particles  have  been  found  in  a 
single  cubic  foot  of  air  in  a  particularly 
dirty  city. 

> 

T-Jow  much  does  New  York  City's 
A  Empire  State  Building  move  in  a 
wind?  F.  H.  Frankland,  during  a  five- 
year  test,  found  that  in  a  wind  of  eighty 
miles  an  hour  the  building  took  a  tem- 
porary lean  of  about  two  and  three- 
quarters  inches,  and  then  swayed,  at 
the  rate  of  almost  eight  times  a  minute, 
through  an  eight-inch  arc.  On  one  side 
the  building  swayed  to  one  and  three- 
quarters  inches,  up-wind,  and  on  the 
other  side  six  and  three-quarters  inches 
from  vertical,  down-wind. 
4 

C  eals  can  stay  under  water  for  twelve 
V  to  fifteen  minutes. 


7V  coral-haunting  crab  from  Mauri- 
**  tius  Island  in  the  Indian  Ocean 
invariably  grasps  two  anemones,  one 
in  each  claw,  and  uses  them  both  for 
defense   and  for   feeding.     When  at- 


rTfHE  headache  which  coffee-drinkers 
develop  when  deprived  of  their 
morning  cup  of  coffee  is  apparently 
caused  by  the  sudden  stoppage  of  the 
regular  supply  of  caffeine,  scientists  at 
the  University  of  Chicago  school  of 
medicine  have  found.  If  a  daily  dose 
of  caffeine  equivalent  to  from  five  to 
ten  cups  of  coffee  was  given  instead  of 
caffeine-containing  beverages  there 
were  no  headaches  until  the  dose  was 
stopped.  The  resulting  headache  was 
accompanied  by  "mental  depression, 
drowsiness,  and  yawning,  with  the  sub- 
ject complaining  of  a  disinclination  to 
work." 

■♦ 

f-fuMMiNGBiRDS  have  a  big  appetite 
x  x  for  sweets.  They  have  been 
known  to  eat  two  teaspoonfuls  of 
sugar  daily,  about  a  third  of  their  own 
weight  in  sugar.  On  long  migration 
flights  these  birds  time  their  travel  to 
make  use  of  the  blossoming  of  the 
flowers  that  supply  their  food.  They 
not  only  sip  nectar  but  eat  large  quan- 
tities of  insects. 

-♦ 

HThe  combined  capacity  of  brakes  on 

•*■    a  railroad  train  is  often  fifteen  to 

twenty  times  the  tractive  power  of  the 

locomotive. 

^ 

HPo  aid  in  the  quality  production  in  a 
■*•  steel  mill,  a  photoelectric  hole-de- 
tector spots  holes  as  small  as  one- 
hundredth  of  an  inch  in  a  steel  sheet 
moving  as  fast  as  one  thousand  feet 
per  minute.  If  the  detector  finds  a 
hole,  the  sheet  is  automatically  marked 
alongside  the  hole. 


TELEFACT 


WEATHER  CONDITIONS  AND  ACCIDENTS, 

1939(U.  S.  A.) 


CLEAR 


SNOW 
RAIN    &  FOG 


25,180  ACCIDENTS 


2,850 


1,020 


Science  Service-Pictorial  Statistics,  Inc.  8-28] 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,     JANUARY,     1941 


Exploring  the  Universe 

T_Tow  effective  is  ceiling  insulation  in 
■*•  A  keeping  out  summer  heat  through 
a  flat  roof?  The  Bureau  of  Standards 
found  that  ceiling  temperatures  with  in- 
sulation above  the  ceiling  were  as  much 
as  sixteen  degrees  Fahrenheit  lower 
than  that  of  uninsulated  ceilings.  With 
only  an  attic  floor  for  insulation,  ceil- 
ing temperatures  were  about  ten  de- 
grees lower  than  on  the  wholly  unin- 
sulated ceiling. 

> 

HpHERE  are  over  a  thousand  wells 
A  drilled  each  month  in  the  United 
States  in  seeking  oil.  The  depth  runs 
from  a  few  hundred  feet  to  over  two 
miles.  The  cost  may  be  as  much  as  a 
quarter  of  a  million  dollars  for  one 
well. 


About  one  third  the  men  examined 
^*  for  service  in  the  first  World  War 
were  physically  unfit  for  military  duty. 

4 

HPhe  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture 
reports  that  both  the  Egyptians 
and  the  Chinese  knew  how  to  hatch 
chicks  artificially  over  two  thousand 
years  ago  by  using  crude  equipment  and 
laborious  methods. 

4 

"Drown  sugar  has  been  found  to  be 
rich  in  the   growth  vitamins   B-6 


TELEFACT 


AVERAGE  COST  OF  HEALTH  CARE 

AVERAGE  WAGE  EARNER  SPENDS  $59  PER  YEAR 


###*##««$### 


FAMILY 
DOCTOR  $13 


DENTAL 
SERVICE  $11 


MEDICINE  & 
DRUGS  $10 


\f% 


«& 


HOSPITAL      EYE  GLASSES 
EXPENSES     ACCIDENT  &  HEALTH 
$6  INSURANCE,  ETC.  $19 


Science  Service-  hctog*aph  corporation  11-9 


and  H.  Dr.  W.  J.  Robbins  found  that 
tomato  roots  placed  in  water  contain- 
ing pure  white  sugar  and  some  salts 
grew,  but  not  very  well.  With  brown 
instead  of  white  sugar,  the  roots  grew 
rapidly,  sometimes  at  the  rate  of  al- 
most an  inch  in  a  day,  reaching  in  time 
total  lengths  of  several  feet. 


H 


eart  disease  has  been  found  to  oc- 
cur more  frequently  among  tobac- 


co smokers  than  non-smokers  under 
fifty  years  old,  a  group  of  Mayo  Clinic 
doctors  have  discovered.  The  study 
was  made  of  several  thousand  smokers, 
non-smokers,  and  patients  with  and 
without  heart  disease.  It  was  found, 
for  example,  that  among  the  heart  dis- 
ease patients  between  the  ages  of  forty 
and  forty-nine,  eighty  per  cent  were 
smokers  contrasted  with  sixty  per  cent 
smokers  of  the  group  who  had  no  heart 
disease. 


~— w 


START  YOU* 


FUTURE 


WITH  LUCK 


i 


> 


% 


::::o:::S;;y:v:''S::S:-':-:-' 


Start  your  car  with 

S80/V2ZZ 


GASOLINE 


»»«?$ 


AIM  TRUE 

•  h  GerioiflS  FarmCI" 
Power  ana  ch    r 


GENUINE 


BUILT  fij, 


FA>?/1, 


McCORMICK-DEERING 


FARMALL-M 


FARMALL  A 


McCORMICK- 
DEERING 


^TERN/VT*0 


SPRING  work  seems  a  long  way  off 
right  now.  But  we  must  remember 
that  much  of  next  year's  success  will  be 
assured  by  wise  decisions  made  in  the 
very  near  future! 

Take  your  own  case,  for  example. 
Are  you  equipped  to  get  the  most  out 
of  your  acres,  for  your  own  benefit  and 
for  the  good  of  your  family?  Or  do  you 
need  a  new  all-purpose  tractor,  a  new 
farm  machine  or  two? 

For  more  than  1 7  years,  farming  suc- 
cess has  been  closely  linked  to  the 
Farmall  System  of  Farming.  Today,  four 


NEW!  High-Clearance 
N  .ah    ^V  for 

FARtf     and  0*<" 
VegetaWes  and  <-. 

Bedded  Crops. 


sleek,  streamlined  beauties  offer  you  a 
choice  of  genuine  Farmall  power— they 
bring  you  the  perfect  balance  of  power, 
equipment,  and  acreage. 

Farmalls  have  been  hard  to  get  all 
year.  Give  thought  to  your  Spring 
needs.  Play  safe — order  your  new 
Farmall  now,  for  delivery  when  you 
need  it.  The  International  Harvester 
dealer  will  explain  the  advantages  of 
"Lift-All"  and  "Culti-Vision,"  and  he 
will  demonstrate  on  request. 

INTERNATIONAL  HARVESTER  COMPANY 


180  North  Michigan  Avenue 


Chicago,  Illinois 


1 


V 


^yyyy.y'  y 


,« 


mHNHIin 

...  ■  .  ■  j   |   |      : 


JfUL 

DESIGNER 


Photograph  by  Gerald  Barton,  Ptovo,  Utah. 


'J'he  Wind's  crystal  needles  are  rhythmically  knitting, 

Knitting  and   purling   angora   snow 
Into  lacy   medallion   snowflakes; 
He's  chaining  together  row  after  row. 

'J'HE  Wind's  crystal  needles  are  rhythmically  knitting, 

Knitted  and  purled  with  white  snow  thread 
A  circular  skirt  and  a  hug-me-tight  sweater, 
And  slipped  them  over  earth's  brown  tousled  head. 


By   EDNA  S.  DUSTIN 


GREETINGS 

OF  THE 

FIRST    PRESIDENCY 

OF  THE 


The  message  of  Peace  and  Brotherly  Kindness 
is  proclaimed  by  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Jesus  taught  it  in  person  to  His  disciples  of 
old,  and  repeats  it  today  in  the  Gospel  Restored. 

Yet  this  Christmas-tide,  in  which  Christian  peo- 
ples celebrate  the  birth  of  the  Prince  of  Peace,  finds 
bitterness  and  strife  rampant  in  many  parts  of  the 
world.  All  Europe  is  being  strangled  by  war,  and 
armies  are  now  moving  eastward  presaging  blood- 
shed again  in  the  Holy  Land,  where  the  Arma- 
geddon of  prophecy  is  to  be  fought. 

How  glorious  it  would  be  if  in  men's  lives  there 
might  exist  conditions  of  contentment  and  peace — 
if  there  were  an  eradication  from  men's  hearts  of 
enmity  and  jealousy,  avarice  and  greed,  strife  and 
contention.  But  such  is  not  the  case.  The  daily 
press  and  radio  bring  news  of  war  and  its 
horrors,  of  strikes,  of  thefts,  of  political  corruption, 
of  family  strifes,  of  murders.  At  a  time  when  Na- 
ture would  proclaim  the  existence,  handiwork,  and 
glory  of  God,  men  in  their  blindness  and  selfish- 
ness choose  to  grovel  in  sin  and  misery  of  their 
own  making. 

When  Jesus  was  born,  His  coming  was  heralded 
by  heavenly  voices  singing,  "Glory  to  God  in  the 
highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good  will  toward  men." 

But  man  was  stiff-necked  and  sinful  then  as  now; 
consequently,  about  thirty-three  years  after  His 
coming,  and  after  a  relatively  short,  intensive  plead- 
ing for  those  among  whom  He  labored  to  turn 
from  the  broad  way  of  Error  into  the  pathway  of 
Light,  Jesus  stood  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and 
looking  over  the  city  He  loved,  cried: 

"O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou  that  killest  the  prophets, 
and  stonest  them  which  are  sent  unto  thee,  how  often  would 
I  have  gathered  thy  children  together,  even  as  a  hen  gath- 
ereth  her  chickens  under  her  wings,  and  ye  would  not! 
Behold,  your  house  is  left  unto  you  desolate." 

Today,  nineteen  hundred  years  later,  as  Christ's 
professed  followers  celebrate  the  anniversary  of 
His  .birth,  what  sorrowful  sights  His  eyes  behold! 
The  bounties  of  a  productive  earth  He  sees  wan- 
tonly wasted  while  millions  of  His  children  starve. 
Surely,  in  the  midst  of  such  world  confusion,  human 
suffering,  carnage,  and  death,  we  can  hear  Him  cry 
once  again: 

O  Nations,  Nations,  thou  that  killest  one  another  and 
rejecteth  the  Words  of  Peace,  behold  your  house  is  left  unto 
you  desolate,  for,  "I  the  Lord  cannot  look  upon  sin  with  the 
least  degree  of  allowance; 

"Nevertheless,  he  that  repents  and  does  the  commandments 
of  the  Lord  shall  be  forgiven; 

"And  he  that  repents  not,  from  him  shall  be  taken  even  the 


light  which  he  has  received;  for  my  Spirit  shall  not  always 
strive  with  man,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts.  .  .  . 

"For  I  am  no  respecter  of  persons,  and  will  that  all  men 
shall  know  that  the  day  speedily  cometb  .  .  .  when  peace 
shall  be  taken  from  the  earth,  and  the  devil  shall  have  power 
over  his  own  dominion." 

The  deplorable  conditions  in  the  world  today  are 
the  direct  result  of  failure  of  the  children  of  men  to 
keep  the  commandments  of  the  Lord.  As  long  as 
the  world  continues  to  ignore  these  commandments, 
so  long  will  turmoil,  strife,  and  misery  prevail. 

Men  and  women  in  a  war-stricken  world  are  cry- 
ing for  the  cessation  of  destruction  and  bloodshed, 
and  for  the  establishment  of  peace.  In  the  natural 
course  of  events  some  day  the  present  war  will  end, 
as  did  the  first  World  War,  but  there  will  be  no 
lasting  peace  until  it  is  built  upon  the  foundation  of 
Faith  in  God,  and  upon  adherence  to  the  principles 
of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  Peter  proclaimed  not 
an  idle  statement,  but  a  glorious  truth,  when  he  said 
with  reference  to  his  Master:  "There  is  none  other 
name  under  heaven  given  among  men,  whereby  we 
must  be  saved." 

No  person,  no  nation,  can  enjoy  perfect  content- 
ment and  peace  without  following  the  footsteps  of 
Him  who  said,  "I  am  the  light  of  the  world;  he 
that  followeth  me  shall  not  walk  in  darkness,  but 
shall  have  the  light  of  life." 

As  of  old,  so  today,  the  Lord  offers  to  mankind 
the  Way  to  Peace  in  simple  language  as  follows: 

"I  will  not  leave  you  comfortless:  I  will  come  to  you.  .  .  . 
Because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also.  .  .  .  He  that  hath  my 
commandments,  and  keepeth  them,  he  it  is  that  loveth  me: 
and  he  that  loveth  me  shall  be  loved  of  my  Father,  and  I  will 
love  him,  and  will  manifest  myself  to  him." 

"Learn  of  me,  and  listen  to  my  words;  walk  in  the  meekness 
of  my  Spirit,  and  you  shall  have  peace  in  me." 

To  members  of  the  Church  in  America,  and  in  all 
other  countries  of  the  world,  we  send  greetings  and 
prayerful  wishes  that  faith,  kindness,  and  charity 
toward  all  men  may  ever  abide  in  your  hearts,  and 
that  people  everywhere  will  have  a  desire  to  turn 
from  Error  to  Truth,  thereby  hastening  the  day 
when  the  Christ's  message,  "Peace  on  earth,  and 
good  will  toward  men,"  will  become  a  reality. 


The  First  Presidency. 


7h  Ed  ilo  rsTaqe 


By  PRESIDENT  HEBER  J.  GRANT 

I"  HAVE  FOUND  A  GREAT  MANY  PEOPLE  WHO  DO  NOT  KNOW  WHAT 

THEIR  TITHING  IS.      I  BELIEVE  IF  I  WERE  IN  PARTNERSHIP  WITH 

THEM  AND  THEY  HAD  A  TENTH  INTEREST  IN  THAT  PARTNERSHIP, 

THEY  WOULD  KNOW  PRETTY  WELL  WHAT  PART  THEIR  TENTH  WAS. 


I  heard  a  very  splendid  illustration  given  by  a 
Sunday  School  teacher  of  the  Primary  class. 
She  brought  to  her  school  ten  beautiful  red 
apples.  She  explained  that  everything  we  have 
in  the  world  came  to  us  from  the  Lord,  and  she 
said,  "Now,  children,  if  I  give  one  of  you  these 
ten  apples,  will  you  give  me  one  back  again?  Now, 
any  one  of  you  children  that  will  do  that,  hold 
up  your  hand."  And  of  course  they  all  held  up 
their  hands.  Then  she  said,  "That  is  what  the  Lord 
does  for  us.  He  gives  us  the  ten  apples,  but  He 
requests  that  we  return  one  to  Him  to  show  our 
appreciation  of  that  gift." 

The  great  trouble  with  the  majority  of  people  is 
that  when  they  get  the  ten  apples,  they  eat  up 
nine  of  them  and  then  they  cut  the  other  in  two 
and  give  the  Lord  half  of  what  is  left.  Some  of 
them  cut  the  apple  in  two  and  eat  up  one-half  of  it 
and  then  hold  up  the  other  half  and  ask  the  Lord  to 
take  a  bite.  That  is  about  as  near  as  they  see  fit 
to  share  properly  and  show  their  gratitude  to  the 
Lord. 

The  payment  of  our  tithing  in  the  season  thereof 
— when  we  get  our  income — makes  it  come  easy. 
I  find  that  those  who  pay  tithing  every  month  have 
very  much  less  difficulty  in  paying  it  than  those 
who  postpone  payment  to  the  end  of  the  year, 
when  they  have  eaten  the  nine  apples,  so  to  speak; 
but  if  they  pay  the  minute  they  get  the  apples  in 
their  possession,  there  is  no  hardship;  their  hearts 
are  full  of  gratitude,  and  they  are  willing  to  express 
their  gratitude;  but  after  the  nine  apples  are  eaten, 
they  think  the  Lord  is  very  hard  to  want  all  they 
have  left. 

One  great  trouble  with  tithing  is  that  men,  be- 
cause of  their  natural  selfishness,  become  blinded 
and  they  cannot  see  straight;  they  cannot  calculate 
properly.  If  we  can  only  have  the  proper  vision, 
the  more  we  make,  the  easier  it  is  to  pay  our  tithing 
because  of  the  greater  amount  that  is  left. 

Now,  I  can  talk  tithing,  because  from  the  time 
I  was  a  little  boy  earning  money,  I  have  paid  my 
tithing.  I  have  been  honest  with  the  Lord  and  I 
am  not  asking  other  people  to  do  what  I  am  not 
willing  to  do  and  have  done  all  the  days  of  my  life 
— that  is,  to  be  honest  with  the  Lord  first.  The 
Lord,  you  know,  does  not  send  collectors  around 
once  a  month  to  collect  bills;  He  does  not  send  us 


our  account  once  a  month;  we  are  trusted  by  the 
Lord;  we  are  agents;  we  have  our  free  will;  and 
when  the  battle  of  life  is  over,  we  have  had  the 
ability  and  the  power  and  the  capacity  to  have  done 
those  things  which  the  Lord  required  us  to  do  and 
we  cannot  blame  anybody  else. 

There  are  a  great  many  people  who  say,  "I  do 
not  pay  my  tithing  because  I  do  not  think  it  is 
expended  right;  I  do  not  like  the  way  the  Church 
handles  the  tithing;  I  do  not  think  they  use  the 
proper  wisdom  in  the  expenditure  of  the  tithing." 

Well,  you  know  that  if  someone  steals  a  calf, 
the  Lord  will  never  charge  it  up  to  my  account,  and 
He  will  never  charge  it  up  to  yours.  If  the  Author- 
ities of  the  Church  and  the  wards  and  stakes  do 
not  make  a  proper  use  of  the  tithing,  you  will  never 
have  to  account  for  it,  but  if  you  keep  that  which 
belongs  to  the  Lord,  you  may  read  from  one  of  the 
ancient  prophets  and  find  that  the  Lord  says,  "You 
have  robbed  me,"  in  plain  English.  "Wherein  have 
we  robbed  you?"  "In  your  tithes  and  your  offer- 
ings." That  is  the  way  it  was  laid  down.  The 
Lord,  as  a  rule,  in  nearly  everything  He  says,  says 
it  plain  enough  that  a  wayfaring  man,  though  a 
fool,  need  not  err  therein. 

I  have  found  a  great  many  people  who  do  not 
know  what  their  tithing  is.  I  have  never  met  people 
of  that  kind  but  what  I  believe  if  I  were  in  part- 
nership with  them  and  they  had  a  tenth  interest  in 
that  partnership,  they  would  know  pretty  well  what 
part  their  tenth  was.  I  do  not  think  they  would 
have  any  difficulty  whatever  in  finding  how  much 
I  owed  them.  So,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  if  we 
wanted  to,  we  would  have  no  difficulty  in  finding 
out  what  is  one-tenth  of  our  income,  and  that  is 
what  we  owe  to  the  Lord — no  difficulty  whatever. 

Now,  I  believe  that  people  are  blessed  in  pro- 
portion to  their  liberality.  I  am  not  saying  that 
they  always  make  more  dollars,  perhaps,  than  the 
other  man,  but  so  far  as  an  increase  in  the  faith  and 
in  the  testimony  and  the  knowledge  of  the  divinity 
of  the  work  in  which  we  are  engaged,  men  that  are 
honest  with  the  Lord  in  the  payment  of  their  tithing 
grow  as  men  never  grow  that  are  not  honest;  there 
is  no  question  in  my  mind.  Moreover,  I  am  just 
foolish  enough  to  believe  that  the  Lord  magnifies 
those  who  do  pay  their  tithing  and  that  they  are 
more  prosperous,  on  the  (Concluded  on  page  56) 


WELLSPRINGS 
LIFE 

Chi.  Gpp&aL  IoJ/wajl 
StfklL  $>ah.  muL  Opart* 

By  the  late 

ELDER  MELVIN  J.  BALLARD 

Of  the  Council  of  the  Twelve 


IT  is  well  that  we  pause  to  ask: 
Why?  Why  am  I  here?  What 
was  the  purpose  of  life  in  sending 
me  into  this  world,  with  all  of  its 
problems  and  difficulties,  with  its 
mortality,  with  its  death  and  suffer- 
ing? Why  all  of  these? 

I  am  going  to  read  from  the 
Book  of  Abraham,  what  the  Lord 
Himself  said  to  our  ancient  patri- 
arch and  forefather: 

We  will  go  down,  for  there  is  space 
there,  and  we  will  take  of  these  materials, 
and  we  will  make  an  earth  whereon  these 
may  dwell;  And  we  will  prove  them  here- 
with, to  see  if  they  will  do  all  things  what- 
soever the  Lord  their  God  shall  command 
them;  .  .  .  And  they  who  keep  their  sec- 
ond [or  their  earth]  estate  shall  have  glory 
added  upon  their  heads  forever  and  ever. 
(Pearl  of  Great  Price,  Abraham  3:24-26.) 

I  am  sure  that  it  was  not  the 
thought  of  our  Heavenly  Father 
that  He  would  issue  certain  man- 
dates to  us  just  to  see  us  in  action, 
to  discover  whether  or  not  we 
should  be  competent.  I  am  sure  that 
every  requirement  that  He  has 
made  was  essential  to  prepare  us  to 
come  into  His  presence;  that  the 
rules  that  have  existed  from  eter- 
nity shall  also  be  the  same  rules 
that  shall  govern  men  to  the  ends 
of  time,  who  aspire  to  come  into  the 
presence  of  God. 

The  first  great  purpose  the  Lord 
had  in  giving  us  earth  life  was  to 
effect  a  union  of  the  spirit,  the  im- 
mortal spirit  of  man,  that  had  lived 
with  God  in  the  eternal  world  for 
10 


ages — to  give  that  glorious  spirit  its 
opportunity  to  be  united  with  the 
flesh,  with  mortality,  to  constitute 
a  complete  soul,  to  qualify  that  soul 
ultimately,  in  the  resurrection  from 
the  dead. 

Without  earth  life  there  would 
be  no  immortal  body  for  any  of  us. 
But  the  union  of  the  spirit  and  mat- 
ter qualifies  us  to  reach  all  heights 
that  are  spiritual,  all  things  that  are 
material,  the  fulness  of  the  kingdom 
of  the  Father. 

The  second  great  purpose  of  life 
was  to  give  us  a  chance  to  learn 
how  to  live  in  the  presence  of  God, 
to  train  us  in  a  course  of  human 
conduct  that  would  qualify  us  to 
enter  His  holy  presence.  It  was 
pleasing  in  the  sight  of  our  Father 
that  we  should  live  and  cling  to  life. 
There  is  in  operation  a  law  ac- 
countable for  more,  perhaps,  of  hu- 
man action  than  any  other  law,  the 
law  of  self-preservation,  by  which 
we  love  life;  we  cling  to  it,  even 
when  old  age  and  decrepitude  are 
upon  us.  There  are  some  who  de- 
stroy their  lives,  but  that  is  not  the 
normal  action  or  result  of  human 
thought  and  conduct.  We  love  life. 
It  was  the  Lord's  design,  therefore, 
that  we  should  cling  to  life  and  pre- 
serve ourselves  against  accident, 
against  harm  and  loss  of  life,  for 
life  is  precious.  It  gives  us  oppor- 
tunity to  gain  experience  and  learn 
how  to  live. 

Standing  next  to  the  law  of  self- 
preservation  is  what  we  call  the  op- 


eration of  the  law  of  appetite,  a 
craving  for  the  things  that  satisfy 
the  physical  body.  But  we  must 
guard  that  appetite,  to  see  that  it  does 
not  run  rampant  and  indulge  itself  in 
the  things  that  would  destroy  the 
body,  because  the  Almighty  placed 
appetite  for  things  to  eat  and  to 
drink  that  we  might  build  up  a 
strong,  vigorous,  healthy  body.  To 
argue  that  the  proper  thing  is  to 
satisfy  appetite,  and  to  eat  and 
drink  the  things  that  poison  and  de- 
stroy the  body,  is  all  wrong,  and 
will  bring  death  and  destruction. 

T  am  sure  that  the  Word  of  Wis- 
dom that  the  Lord  has  revealed 
in  our  age  is  as  old  as  the  Gospel 
itself.  It  was  given  to  Adam  in  the 
beginning.  We  have  bits  of  it  that 
still  survive  in  the  scripture,  where 
the  Lord  pointed  out  that  while  He 
had  given  man  strong  appetite,  He 
desired  that  man  should  master  his 
appetite  and  control  it,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  building  a  strong,  healthy, 
vigorous  physical  body. 

Third:  In  the  operation  of  laws 
that  account  for  human  action  is 
that  tremendous  power  and  force 
called  sex  desire;  but,  like  the  ap- 
petite, sex  desire  was  not  planted 
in  men  and  in  women  that  it  might 
run  rampant  and  gratify  itself 
wherever  and  whensoever  desire 
prompted,  but  that,  like  appetite,  it 
too  must  be  controlled. 

If  God  had  not  placed  this  strong 
desire  for  food  in  each  of  us  we 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA,  JANUARY,  1941 


would  perish  for  lack  of  sustenance. 
If  God  had  not  placed  in  the  human 
nature  that  strong  sex  desire,  the 
great  purpose  of  life  would  fail,  for 
it  was  His  design  and  purpose  that 
we  should  reproduce  ourselves,  for 
the  first  great  command  God  gave 
to  man  was  to  multiply  and  replen- 
ish the  earth.  He  therefore  gave 
the  man  to  the  woman,  made  them 
one  in  a  bond  that  knew  no  death, 
and  advised  them  to  cleave  unto 
each  other  and  keep  themselves 
from  all  others.  That  was  the  con- 
trol of  this  highest  power  with 
which  God  has  endowed  the  human 
body,  the  power  to  reproduce  our- 
selves. 

I  should  like  my  dear  young 
brethren  to  have  the  vision  of  our 
future,  with  its  opportunities  and 
possibilities  that  the  Lord  has  given 
us,  and  that  your  brethren  who  love 
you  have  taught,  in  a  world  that  is 
questioning  these  sacred  standards 
established  by  the  Almighty  in  the 
very  beginning  of  the  race.  We 
challenge  you  to  adhere  to  these 
sacred,  holy  principles,  if  you 
would  come  unto  the  presence  of 
your  Father,  for  only  the  pure  in 
heart  shall  see  God. 

In  an  age,  I  say,  that  looks  with 
complacency  upon  the  violation  of 
this  great  commandment  of  the  Al- 
mighty, having  endowed  man  with 
these  powers,  He  charged  him, 
nevertheless,  not  to  commit  adul- 
tery, and  Jesus  said  to  those  of  His 
own  time:  "He  that  looketh  upon  a 
woman  to  lust  after  her,  hath  al- 
ready committed  adultery  in  his 
heart."  The  heart  must  be  pure  if 
the  action  would  also  be  pure. 

I  want  young  men,  whatever  the 
temptation  may  be,  to  remember 
who  they  are.  Sons  of  Joseph,  read 
his  story  again,  the  story  of  the  boy 
sold  into  Egypt  and  ordered  away 
from  his  family  and  friends.  There 
is  a  temptation.  Nobody  to  watch 
him  now;  may  he  not  yield  to  his 
natural  inclination?  No.  He  has 
received  a  training  he  must  not  ig- 
nore though  it  cost  him  the  favor 


Here  is  one  of  the  messages  the 
late  Elder  Melvin  J.  Ballard 
gave  to  the  young  people  of  the 
Church  some  months  before  his  pass- 
ing. Because  he  loved  them,  and  was 
loved  of  them,  we  give  it  here  the 
voice  of  print,  that  it  may  call  Zion's 
youth  to  walk  in  those  ways  which 
lead  upward  and  onward. 


of  the  wife  of  one  mighty  in  the 
government,  who  offers  him  high 
place  and  her  favor,  if  he  would 
sin  with  her.  Day  after  day  he  re- 
sists her,  and  then  in  her  mad  pas- 
sion, one  day  she  seizes  him  to  drag 
him  to  his  ruin,  when  he  tears  away 
from  her,  leaving  his  cloak  in  her 
possession.  Rejected  and  despised, 
she  now  turns  against  him  and  ac- 
cuses him  of  having  assaulted  her, 
and  the  evidence  of  defending  her- 
self is  that  she  had  torn  the  cloak 
from  him. 

But  there  is  something  in  virtue 
and  in  purity,  that  it  is  not  only  its 
own  reward,  but  its  own  defense. 
While  it  is  true  that  under  the  false 
accusation  the  boy  went  to  prison, 
he  nevertheless  was  brought  out  in 
honor  and  glory,  to  a  place  high  in 
the  kingdom,  because  he  was  pure. 

All  the  world  may  condemn  you 
and  lie  about  you,  but  they  cannot 
defeat  you  if  you  know  in  your  own 
heart  you  are  clean  and  you  are 
pure.  You  can  look  even  God  in 
the  face.  I  ask  you  to  remember 
that,  for  whatever  the  temptation 
may  be,  you  are  a  son  of  that  Jos- 
eph, and  if  you  expect  or  hope  to 
be  an  inheritor  of  his  blessings,  such 
superior  blessings  that  brought 
upon  him  the  envy  and  the  jealousy 
of  his  brethren,  you  must  be  like 
him,  strong  men,  clean  men,  and 
pure  men,  that  would  rather  die 
than  to  be  defiled. 

You  women,  you  girls,  I  appeal 
to  you  that  you  shall  adhere  to  the 
high  teachings  and  moral  practices 
and  principles  of  your  mothers,  who 
regarded  virtue  as  more  precious 
than  life  itself.  I  promise  you  that 


the  girl  that  is  modest  in  speech,  is 
modest  in  dress,  and  modest  in  ac- 
tion, shall  be  protected  against  in- 
sult, save  it  be  she  fall  a  victim  of 
some  mad-man.  But  let  her  either 
be  immodest  in  dress  or  in  action, 
she  shall  invite  pursuit,  and  be  ex- 
ceedingly fortunate  if  she  shall  es- 
cape. 

We  appeal  to  you,  therefore, 
young  men  and  young  women,  with 
these  mighty  powers  in  your  hands, 
to  preserve  them,  clean  and  unsul- 
lied and  uncontaminated,  for  the 
holy  purpose  for  which  the  Al- 
mighty endowed  you.  And  what  is 
that?  To  produce  here  a  genera- 
tion of  men  and  women,  the  like  of 
which  the  world  has  never  seen! 
That  is  why  you  have  been  brought 
from  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

You  remember  the  story  of 
Abraham  having  a  son,  Isaac,  and 
when  he  came  to  the  age  that  he  de- 
sired a  wife,  it  was  no  matter  of 
going  out  and  haphazardly  choos- 
ing, but  Abraham  sent  a  very  wise 
man  to  a  distant  country,  among  his 
own  people,  to  seek  out  and  find  a 
suitable  companion.  I  have  sometimes 
wished  young  folk  would  allow 
it  today.  I  am  sure  your  fathers 
and  mothers  would  be  better  pickers 
than  some  of  you  are.  But  you  won't 
stand  for  it,  and  so  we  shall  have  to 
do  the  next  best.  We  cannot  pick  the 
individual  for  you,  but  we  will  try 
to  select  the  group,  and  keep  the 
wolves  out  and  introduce  you  to 
the  flock,  with  the  hope  that  you 
will  find  the  right  one. 

I"  am  going  to  tell  you  a  true  story, 
because   it  is  the  story  of   your 
fathers   and   mothers,  just  a    little 
different. 

There  came  to  Utah  in  the  fall  of 
1859,  a  Scotch  family  with  father 
and  mother  and  several  children, 
the  eldest  a  girl  thirteen  and  a  half 
years  of  age.  She  had  walked 
across  the  plains.  They  came  down 
Weber  Canyon  and  were  directed 
(Continued  on  page  60) 

Photo  by  Paul  S.   Bieler. 


ANDREW 
JENSON 


By  ALBERT  L  ZOBELL,  JR. 


ANDREW  JENSON  AT  THE  AGE  OF  NINETY. 


HERE  is  the  story  of  an  immi- 
grant youth  who  came  west 
by  ox  team,  worked  as  a  farm 
hand  and  fisherman,  used  a  shovel 
to  bring  the  railroads  west,  labored 
in  the  early  copper  mines  at  Bing- 
ham, has  lived  to  retrace  his  original 
ox  train  route  by  airplane,  and  who 
now,  past  his  ninetieth  year,  works 
daily  at  his  desk  in  the  Church  His- 
torian's Office. 

Andrew  Jenson  was  born  at 
Torslev,  Hjorring  Amt  (County), 
Denmark,  December  11,  1850.  His 
parents,  Christian  and  Kiersten  An- 
dersen Jenson,  who  joined  the 
Church  when  he  was  four  years  old, 
were  among  the  first  Mormon  con- 
verts in  Denmark.  By  the  time  he 
came  to  Utah  in  1866,  the  natural 
historian  in  him  was  beginning  to 
make  itself  known.  He  started  his 
daily  diary  when  he  was  thirteen 
years  old  and  is  still  faithful  to  it. 
His  first  literary  endeavor  was  the 
translating  of  the  "Life  of  Joseph 
Smith"  into  the  Danish-Norwegian 
tongue.  This  he  published  and 
sold  as  the  work  of  translation  pro- 
gressed, in  tracts  of  sixteen  pages 
each.  When  the  work  was  com- 
pleted these  pamphlets  had  a  trade- 
in  value  in  exchange  for  a  bound 
copy  of  the  book. 

To  Andrew  Jenson  has  come  the 
honor  of  serving  ten  missions  for  his 
Church,  including  the  taking  of  a 
covered  wagon  from  Utah,  in  1935, 
to  Rebild  Park,  Aalborg,  Denmark, 
commemorating  the  first  organized 
group  of  Danish  immigrants  to  come 
to  America.  They  were  converts 
of  the  Church,  leaving  their  native 
land  in  1853.  On  this  trip  he  re- 
ceived an  audience  with  King  Chris- 
tian X.  He  has  traveled  nearly  a 
million  miles  on  Church  business, 
encircling  the  globe  twice. 

For  ten  years  he  edited  the  Biku~ 
ben  (Beehive),  the  newspaper  in 
the  Danish-Norwegian  language 
which  the  Church  once  published. 
12 


A  TRIBUTE  TO  AN  IMMIGRANT  BOY  WHO  BECAME  AN  AMBASSADOR 
OF  TRUTH,  AND  HAS  LIVED  TO  ENJOY  THE  BLESSINGS  OF  NINETY 
YEARS'  SERVICE. 


ANDREW    JENSON    AT   AGE   TWENTY-NINE, 
COPENHAGEN,    DENMARK,    1879. 


Andrew  Jenson  was  sustained  as 
Assistant  Church  Historian  in  April, 
1898,  and  here  his  "photographic 
mind"  found  its  rightful  place.  His 
memory    is    remarkable — there 


are 


few  events  in  Church  history  that  he 
cannot  cite  from  memory. 

Records  show  that  The  Improve- 
ment Era  has  published  twenty-two 
articles  by  Andrew  Jenson  during 
its  forty-three  years  of  publication. 
He  has  done  much  to  make  the 
Church  Historian's  Office,  with  its 
library,  the  serviceable  instrument  it 
is  today.  He  has  compiled  and 
edited  about  eight  hundred  and  fifty 
manuscript  volumes  of  Church  his- 
tory, covering  the  years  1830  to 
1900,  and  histories  of  stakes,  wards, 
and  conferences  from  the  beginning 
down  to  1930.  A  further  monument 
to  his  researches  took  form  a  few 
years  ago  with  the  erection  of  a 
private  museum  at  the  rear  of  his  Salt 
Lake  home  to  house  rare  volumes 
and  pioneer  relics  collected  by  him. 

Today,  Andrew  Jenson,  who  has 

known  every  President  of  the  Church 

except     Joseph     Smith,     who     has 

preached  the  Gospel  to  commoners 

(Concluded  on  page  52) 


ANDREW  JENSON  DELIVERING  UTAH'S  COVERED 
WAGON  TO  REBILD  PARK,  DENMARK,   IN    1935. 


■ 


Easy 


x 


,he  following  excerpts 
are  from  the  diary  of  a  young  man 
who  believed  all  he  heard  over  the 
radio  and  read  in  the  newspaper 
and  magazine  advertisements  about 
buying  things  on  "the  easy  payment 
plan." 

January  1. 

Began  work  at  my  new  job  today. 
Can  hardly  wait  until  pay  day.  Just 
think  what  I  can  do  with  $30  per 
week. 

January  15. 

Bought  a  car.  Very  easy  terms. 
Sure  has  power.  Has  two  wind- 
shield wipers  and  a  heater.  Not 
many  young  men  in  town  have  a  car 
like  mine.  Should  finish  payments 
in  18  months. 

February  2. 

Became  engaged  last  night.  Think 
it  was  the  new  car  that  did  the  trick. 
Lucy  said  she  was  proud  of  me.  It 
was  a  beautiful  ring,  and  she  liked 
it.  Payments  will  be  small  and 
weekly. 


TERMS 

By  IRA  J.  MARKHAM 

Weber  College 


A  SHORT 
SHORT 
STORY 


SHORTER    THAN    THE    PRINCIPAL 

CHARACTER   EXPECTED   IT  TO    BE. 


February  10. 

The  new  radio  set  for  the  car 
works  like  a  top.  Can  get  stations 
as  far  away  as  Chicago.  The  first 
payment  was  hardly  anything.  They 
gave  me  six  full  months  to  pay. 

February  18. 

A  little  late  with  car  payments 
this  month.  Will  have  to  let  the 
radio  payment  go  over  until  next 
week  as  I  bought  a  set  of  books  and 
paid  $10  down.  Very  fine  books. 
Everyone  should  have  this  set. 

March  1. 

Am  to  be  married  today.  Lucky 
fellow.  Everybody  envies  me.  A 
fine  job  with  prospects  for  the  fu- 
ture, a  new  car,  and  the  best-looking 
girl  in  town  for  a  wife.  From  a  good 
family,  too.  Well-respected.  The 
boss  gave  me  a  week  off  for  a  honey- 
moon trip. 

March  16. 

Thank  goodness  all  our  furniture 
is  bought.  Was  surprised  to  learn 
how  much  you  can  get  for  a  little. 
They  said  my  father  has  a  very  good 
credit  standing  in  the  community. 
The  salesman  was  so  nice.  Bor- 
rowed $50  from  the  boss  to  meet 
the  car  payment  and  the  weekly 
payment  on  the  ring. 

April  17. 

Borrowed  $100  from  my  insurance 
policy  to  pay  the  $50  I  borrowed 
from  the  boss  and  make  the  payment 
on  the  furniture.  The  radio  man 
came  to  take  the  radio,  but  we  put 
out  the  lights  and  weren't  home. 
The  chump  hung  around  all  eve- 
ning and  we  couldn't  listen  to  the 
radio  or  read  the  books. 

May  21. 

Borrowed  $250  from  the  finance 
company  to  meet  the  payments  on 
the  ring  and  car  and  a  little  on  the 
furniture.  Couldn't  pay  all  the 
furniture  bill  as  I  had  to  make  a  $50 
down  payment  on  a  real  estate  de- 
velopment. This  land  ought  to  jump 
in  value;  then  I  can  sell  and  pay  off 


everything.  The  loan  is  only  3% 
per  month  interest  and  the  principal 
payments  are  monthly.  Had  to  get 
Uncle  Tom  to  sign  with  me  to  get 
the  loan. 

July  18. 

Somehow  I  don't  miss  the  radio 
much.  And  you  can  get  plenty  of 
books  from  the  library.  Am  trying 
to  arrange  a  character  loan  at  the 
bank  for  $350.  If  I  could  only  bor- 
row that  much  I  would  be  in  fine 
shape. 

July  25. 

Bank  says  they  investigated  and 
found  I  have  no  character.  What  a 
bunch  of  crooks.  Am  trying  to  sell 
the  land. 

September  30. 

The  garage  man  is  holding  the  car 
for  a  labor  and  repair  bill.  What 
right  has  he  to  hold  the  car — it 
doesn't  belong  to  me. 

October  18. 

It  isn't  any  use.  I  had  to  let  the 
car  go.  Anyway  I  would  rather 
have  the  piece  of  land.  If  I  could 
only  raise  $30  to  meet  the  payment 
on  the  piano!  Bought  a  second- 
hand automobile  today  on  the  "pay- 
out-of-income"  basis. 

November  21. 

Income  stopped.  The  creditors 
just  wouldn't  wait  any  longer  so 
they  garnisheed  my  wages.  Our 
company  doesn't  like  an  employee 
whose  income  is  garnisheed.  Uncle 
Tom  certainly  raved  when  he  had  to 
pay  my  loan  of  $250  at  the  finance 
company.  Whoever  thought  he 
would  be  like  that?  I  used  to  be  his 
favorite  nephew. 

December  15. 

Lucy  to  have  a  new  baby  soon. 
Am  I  proud.  The  doctor  said  he 
would  wait  for  his  bill  but  I  must 
raise  cash  somewhere  for  the  hos- 
pital. 

January  15. 

Lost  everything  but  wife  and 
baby.  Glad  the  baby  didn't  come 
on  the  installment  plan. 

13 


Ohhm,  (pjotfeA.  fljoduvelL 


Chapter  III. 

ON  May  6,  1842,  ex-Governor 
Lilburn  W.  Boggs  was  shot 
while  sitting  alone  in  his 
room  in  Independence,  Missouri.  His 
life  hung  in  the  balance  for  days,  but 
he  finally  recovered.  The  following 
July,  Boggs  made  an  affidavit  ac- 
cusing Porter  Rockwell  of  Illinois  of 
the  crime. 

Governor  Boggs  had  many  polit- 
ical enemies.  At  the  time  of  the  at- 
tempted assassination  he  was  a  can- 
didate for  senator,  and  politics 
were  agitated  during  the  campaign 
in  a  very  vindictive  spirit. 

That  the  Missourians  should  sus- 
pect the  Mormons  of  this  crime  was 
inevitable:  first,  because  Governor 
Boggs  had  proved  himself  to  be  one 
of  the  greatest  enemies  of  the 
Church  and  had  been  responsible  for 
much  of  their  suffering,  financial  loss, 
and  complete  expulsion  from  the 
state  of  Missouri;  second,  because 
of  the  existing  prejudice,  everyone 
was  willing  to  believe  almost  any- 
thing about  the  Mormons  and  par- 
ticularly when  it  looked  suspicious, 
as  in  this  case. 

However,  the  facts  in  the  case  are 
that  there  were  absolutely  no  clues 
strong  enough  to  convict  anyone,  not 
even  a  hated  Mormon.  Yet  Porter 
was  finally  taken  prisoner  on  the 
charge,  and  through  demagoguery 
and  political  corruption  he  lay  in  a 
Missouri  dungeon  for  over  nine 
14 


THE  MANSION  HOUSE,  NAUVOO 


months  without  the  slightest  evi- 
dence of  his  guilt.  He  was  fed  on 
refuse  that  dogs  would  not  eat.  In 
a  dungeon  without  fire  or  bedding, 
Porter  became  so  emaciated  that  if 
it  had  not  been  for  his  innate  good 
health  and  physical  stamina  he  would 
have  died. 

In  time  it  became  obvious  that 
Rockwell  was  being  held  for  other 
reasons.  There  was  an  attempt  to 
use  him  as  decoy  for  the  capture  of 
the  Prophet  Joseph.  One  day  Sheriff 
Reynolds  approached  Porter  with 
the  plan.  Reynolds  stated  that  he 
had  received  letters  from  Nauvoo 
which  satisfied  them  that  Joseph 
had  unlimited  confidence  in  Rock- 
well. If  Porter  would  take  the  sheriff 
in  a  carriage  or  on  horseback  where 
the  officers  could  apprehend  Joseph 
Smith,  Porter  could  "name  his  pile." 
He  could  also  have  his  choice  of  re- 
turning to  Illinois  or  living  in  Mis- 
souri. If  Sheriff  Reynolds  expected 
results,  he  was  certainly  disappoint- 
ed. Instead  of  answering  with  the 
"kiss  of  a  Judas"  Porter  said,  "I  will 
see  you  damned  first,  and  then  I 
won't." 

After  nine  months  the  prison  doors 
were  opened  to  Porter  Rockwell  and 
he  was  told  to  sneak  home  by  night 
or  be  mobbed.  He  walked  nearly  all 
the  way  from  Independence,  Mis- 
souri, to  Nauvoo,  Illinois.  Once  he 
narrowly  escaped  being  taken  by  a 
mob. 


By 
NICHOLAS  VAN  ALFEN 

Ogden  Seminary 


Tt  WAS  on  Christmas  Day  in  the 
year  1843  that  Porter  wearily 
made  his  way  to  the  home  of  his 
dear  friend,  the  Prophet  Joseph. 
There  were  about  fifty  couples  din- 
ing at  the  table  of  the  Prophet  that 
day.  After  dinner  there  were  music 
and  dancing.  During  the  evening 
a  man  with  long  hair  hanging  over 
his  shoulders  and  a  beard  hanging 
to  his  waistline  came  in  and  acted 
like  a  drunken  Missourian.  Joseph 
asked  the  captain  of  the  police  to 
put  the  man  out.  A  scuffle  ensued 
during  which  Joseph  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  look  the  man  full  in  the 
face.  To  his  surprise  and  joy,  he 
discovered  it  to  be  his  "warm  and 
truly  persecuted  friend,"  Orrin 
Porter  Rockwell. 

This  is  the  first  reference  that  can 
be  found  to  Porter's  long  hair.  It 
is  proverbial  among  the  pioneers  who 
knew  him,  his  family,  and  friends, 
that  Joseph  promised  Rockwell  if  he 
remained  faithful  to  the  Church  and 
did  not  cut  his  hair  he  would  be  pro- 
tected from  bullets.  It  is  not  at  all 
improbable  that  it  was  upon  the  oc- 
casion of  this  reunion  that  this  prom- 
ise was  made.  That  the  promise 
was  actually  made  is  very  difficult  to 
question.  It  is  established  both  in 
Mormon  lore  and  vividly  in  Porter's 
career  as  a  peace  officer  later  in  Utah. 
There  are  many  stories  about  Por- 
ter's experiences  that  I  have  on  rec- 
ord. Many  of  these  are  as  exciting 
as  the  most  imaginative  fiction. 

Israel  Bennion,  resident  of  Ver- 
non, Utah,  knew  Porter  Rockwell  as 
a  neighboring  rancher.  He  makes 
the  following  comment: 

There  was  something  about  Orrin  Porter 
Rockwell  that  so  unmanned  his  opponents 
that  they  would  not,  could  not,  and  did  not 
outface  him,  even  if  it  were  possible  to 
escape  his  lightning  wit,  eye,  and  hand. 
Was  it  the  word  of  the  Prophet  of  the 
Lord  that  he  should  not  be  harmed? 

Chapter  IV.    "They  Have  Killed 
the  Only  Friend  I  Ever  Had." 

"Dorter  Rockwell  possessed  an 
undying  devotion  for  the  Prophet 
Joseph.  The  Prophet  in  return  held 
Rockwell  in  high  esteem.  This 
friendship  was   solid  because  both 


THE     IMPROVEMENT    ERA,     JANUARY,    1941 


CARTHAGE  JAIL 

men  knew  how  to  be  true  to  a  friend 
even  in  the  face  of  death.  The  sug- 
gestion to  betray  a  friend  was  met 
by  Porter  with: 

"I  will  see  you  damned  first,  and 
then  I  won't." 

And  Joseph  said: 

"If  my  life  is  of  no  value  to  my 
friends,  it  is  of  none  to  myself." 

We  find  these  men  more  in  com- 
pany with  each  other  as  time  passed. 
To  see  the  two  ride  out  together 
was  a  common  occurrence.1  Al- 
though there  is  no  direct  evidence  of 
it,  the  common  belief  is  that  Porter 
was  Joseph's  bodyguard. 

Across  the  street  from  the  Man- 
sion House,  Joseph's  home,  there 
stood  for  a  long  time  an  unfinished 
building  which  was  to  have  been 
Porter's  home.  It  was  upon  its  foun- 
dation that  a  platform  was  laid  and 
from  it  Willard  Richards,  the  only 
one  to  escape  being  wounded  at 
Carthage  that  fatal  day  of  June  27, 
1844,  addressed  the  mourning  peo- 
ple. 

It  was  probably  due  to  the  death 
of  the  Prophet  that  this  home  re- 
mained uncompleted.  This  house 
seems  strangely  comparable  to  Rock- 
well himself.  They  both  remained 
in  their  foundation  stage,  unfinished. 
The  death  of  Joseph  undoubtedly 
had  a  profound  effect  on  Rockwell's 
later  life,  not  only  the  death  itself, 
but  the  manner  of  it.  One  is  almost 
forced  to  believe  that  he  nourished 
a  growing  hatred  and  revenge,  not 
against  society,  but  against  the  class 
of  men  that  characterized  outlawry. 
He  became  a  peril  to  them.  We  can 
only  imagine  what  might  have  been 
the  future  Rockwell  if  Joseph  had 
been  permitted  to  live.  This  grow- 
ing hatred  by  Porter  was  further 
kindled  by  his  own  treatment  at  the 
hands  of  mobocrats. 

Porter  Rockwell  seems  to  have 
been  more  than  a  bodyguard.  Fre- 
quent references  are  found  of  Rock- 
well's meeting  in  council  with  the 

xThe  Prophet  had  a  farm  out  on  the  prairie  which 
was   the   object  of  many  of  these  rides. 


Prophet  and  other  Church  leaders. 
When  Joseph  made  a  trip  to  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  to  lay  the  grievances 
of  the  Church  before  the  national 
government,  Porter  was  one  of  the 
few  who  accompanied  him.8 

On  June  10,  1844,  the  Nauvoo 
Expositor,  a  libelous  sheet  published 
by  anti-  Mormons  and  apostates,  was 
declared  a  public  nuisance  by  the 
city  council  and  destroyed.  Porter 
took  part  in  this  destruction,  and 
through  the  stormy  events  that  fol- 
lowed, he  supported  the  Prophet. 
The  traitors,  Law,  Marks,  and  Hig- 
bee,  found  Rockwell  on  the  alert  to 
prevent  their  evil  designs. 

One  day  a  posse  had  been  sent 
to  arrest  Rockwell  and  some  of  the 
other  brethren.  Some  of  the  posse 
were  at  the  Nauvoo  Mansion  having 
their  noon-day  meal.  Others,  well 
armed,  were  outside  on  the  street  and 
sidewalk.  It  was  known  that  they 
were  looking  for  Rockwell,  and  a 

^Millennial  Star.  op.  cit.  Vol.  17,  pp.  373;  550;  585. 


large  crowd  had  gathered.  Pres- 
ently a  carriage  was  driven  up  rap- 
idly. The  driver  stepped  down, 
opened  the  door,  and  a  woman  step- 
ped out.  She  was  dressed  in  black 
silk,  with  a  bonnet,  and  a  veil  cover- 
ing her  face.  She  went  through  the 
crowd  and  up  the  stairway  in  the 
house.  After  a  few  minutes  she  re- 
turned and  entered  the  carriage 
again,  which  was  hurriedly  driven 
away.  It  was  soon  circulated 
through  the  crowd  that  the  woman 
was  Orrin  P.  Rockwell  in  disguise. 
This  was  an  easy  matter  for  him  be- 
cause he  was  small  in  stature,  wore 
his  hair  long,  and  was  of  a  rather 
slender  build  and  even  of  feature. 

In  his  journal,  August,  1842,  the 
Prophet  Joseph  recorded: 

There    is    a   numerous    host    of   faithful 

souls  I   could  wish  to  record  in  the  Book 

of   the    Law   of   the   Lord;    but    time   and 

(Continued  on  page  59) 


PHOTOGRAPH  OF  THE  FIRST  PAGE  OF  THE  FIRST 
ISSUE  OF  THE  LIBELOUS  NAUVOO  "EXPOSITOR," 


15 


Hobbies 


: 


No  ONE  seems  to  know  when 
hobbies  first  came  into  vogue 
or  which  one  was  started  first. 
The  last  few  years,  with  extra  leisure 
time,  have  made  it  possible  for  more 
people  to  follow  some  hobby.  We 
have  seen  hobbies  multiply  by  leaps 
and  bounds.  The  definitions  found  in 
the  various  dictionaries  differ,  so  let's 
make  one  of  our  own.  Let's  call  a 
hobby  doing  the  thing  we  would  do 
if  time  and  means  and  ability  would 
permit.  It  is  something  everyone 
should  have  if  for  no  other  reason 
than  to  keep  out  of  mischief. 

With  the  development  of  hobbies 
have  come  into  existence  new  words. 
The  tendency  to  collect  things  is 
instinctive — as  evidenced  by  the 
things  that  accumulate  in  the  pockets 
of  small  boys  and  the  dresser 
drawers  of  small  girls.  One  word 
is  "collectomania."  It  sounds  like  a 
loathsome  disease,  but  it  really  is  not 
so  bad  to  be  a  collectomaniac.  The 
ailment  is  catching,  however! 

If  you  want  to  see  a  picture  of 
genuine  contentment  and  complete 
relaxation,  just  happen  in  some  time 
on  an  enthusiastic  collector  (not  a 
bill  collector),  who  has  just  found 
the  object  of  a  long  search,  or  who 
has  found  new  beauty  in  an  old 
specimen.  Then,  if  you  would  dis- 
cover the  value  of  sentiment,  ask 
him  to  put  a  price  on  some  of  his 
rarest  numbers.  There  are  things 
that  money  cannot  buy. 

My  early  life  was  spent  on  a  farm 
along  the  Bear  River  in  northern 
Utah.  The  railroad  was  some  dis- 
tance from  the  farm  but  close  enough 
so  that  the  Cache  Valley  train 
served  as  the  official  timepiece.  It 
aroused  my  desire  to  know  what 
was  on  the  other  side  of  the  moun- 
tain. The  Butte  Express — where 
did  it  come  from?  Where  did  it  go? 
How  I  wanted  to  know!  How  I'd 
like  to  ride  it  and  find  out!  It  was 
too  grand  even  to  hope  for.  Think 
of  what  a  ride  would  cost;  think  of 
the  speed  in  comparison  with  my 
old  plow  horses.  I  just  went  up  to 
the  end  of  the  field  and  back,  and 
by  night-time  my  flights  of  fancy 
came  back  to  supper  and  to  a  tired 
bed.  But  I  resolved  to  see  the  world, 
and  I  have  seen  it — and  so  much 
more  than  that  plowboy  ever 
dreamed  of  seeing. 
16 


By   E.  J.  SORENSEN 

Inglewood  Stake 


Traveling  grew  into  a  hobby.  It 
has  led  me  into  many  European 
countries  and  cities,  to  nearly  every 
state  in  the  Union,  to  Mexico,  Can- 
ada, Alaska,  Hawaii,  and  all  the  na- 
tional parks  and  libraries  and  many 
other  interesting  places  in  our 
blessed  land.  My  hobby  has  made 
my  dreams  come  true. 

Traveling  is  the  foundation  for 
many  other  hobbies  such  as  collect- 
ing things  from  other  localities,  writ- 
ing descriptions  of  the  trips  (per- 
haps in  rhyme),  taking  pictures. 
Pictures  make  it  possible  for  others 
to  enjoy  the  trips  with  you  over  and 
over  again.  Added  years  make  them 
more  and  more  precious. 

If  you  have  a  desire  to  see 
the  other  side  of  the  mountain,  go 
and  see  it;  it  will  do  you  good.  It 
will  broaden  anyone.  I  have  failed 
to  find  a  single  person  who  is  not 
more  friendly  to  our  people,  the  Lat- 
ter-day Saints,  after  traveling 
through  our  valleys  and  visiting 
Temple  Square.  Set  out  to  visit  all 
the  parks  in  the  United  States,  or  vis- 
it all  the  historic  sites  of  the  Church. 
Visit  famous  battlegrounds,  or  fa- 
mous fruit-raising,  cattle-raising,  or 
flower  seed-growing  sections.  It's  a 
rare  sight  to  see  a  hundred  acres  of 
sweet  peas  or  stalks  of  delphiniums 
in  full  bloom.  No  seed  catalogue 
has  yet  been  able  to  describe  their 
beauty. 

yisiT  Bunker  Hill,  or  Georgetown, 
or  Camden,  or  Trenton,  or  Valley 
Forge  if  you  want  to  be  impressed 
with  the  price  of  American  freedom. 
Visit  the  tomb  of  Washington  and 
Lincoln  and  let  the  examples  of  such 
men  do  something  for  you,  Go  to 
Gettysburg  and  try  to  see  what 
price  the  folly  of  slavery  and  dis- 
union cost  our  country  in  blood  and 
morale.  You'll  remove  your  hat 
when  you  stand  where  Lincoln  made 
his  famous  speech. 

Kneel  alone  in  the  Sacred  Grove 
at  dawn  of  some  early  spring  morn- 
ing and  see  how  your  heart  swells 
within  you  for  the  knowledge  of  what 
happened  there  in  1820.  You  will 
never  regret  a  visit  to  the  Hill  Cu- 
morah  if  you  will  contemplate  what 


*>**'&    *   *"• 


THE  MONTANA  MOSS  AGATE 
MAKES  UP  INTO  A  VERY  BEAU- 
TIFUL RING. 


the  coming  forth  of  the  Book  of 
Mormon  has  done  for  so  many  peo- 
ple. How  better  could  one  be 
brought  to  realize  what  Malachi 
meant  when  he  prophesied  that 
Elijah  would  be  sent  to  the  earth  to 
turn  the  hearts  of  the  children  to  the 
fathers  and  the  hearts  of  the  fathers 
to  the  children  before  the  coming  of 
Christ,  than  to  stand  at  that  same 
altar  in  the  Kirtland  Temple  where 
Elijah  appeared  to  Joseph  Smith 
and  Oliver  Cowdery?  Travel  over 
the  Mormon  trail.  History  was 
made  over  every  inch  of  that  long, 
hard  march.  If  you  cannot  travel, 
then  read  the  descriptions  given  by 
good  writers  who  have  been  there. 
It's  the  best  substitute. 

To  collect  or  not  to  collect  is  not 
the  question  so  much  as  what  to  col- 
lect. Here  are  a  few  things  that  sug- 
gest themselves,  but  the  list  is  almost 
endless:  Stamps,  clocks,  watches, 
bottles,  jewelry,  gems,  minerals,  In- 
dian relics,  antiques,  paintings,  pho- 
tographs, first  editions,  signatures, 
guns,  swords,  famous  letters  and 
documents,  baskets,  insects,  books, 
histories  of  the  United  States,  and 
Latter-day  Saint  Church  publica- 
tions. 

Things  to  study:  Operas,  master- 
pieces of  music  and  art  and  literature; 
history  of  the  Church  and  the 
United  States  and  one's  own  state; 
electricity,  transportation,  inven- 
tions of  various  kinds. 

Things  to  make:  furniture,  book 
bindings,  boats,  musical  instruments, 
carvings,  paintings,  poetry,  air- 
planes, miniature  implements  and 
utensils,  trains,  boats,  rugs,  quilts, 
flowers,  gardens,  dainties  for  the 
home,  baskets,  dolls,  marionettes, 
photographs,  and  so  ad  infinitum. 

Had  I  started  as  a  youngster  to 
collect  pioneer  things,  there  would 
have  been  preserved  to  this  genera- 
tion a  rare  set  of  tools  that  my 
grandfather  used  in  the  building  of 
the  Salt  Lake  Tabernacle.  All  I  can 
remember  now  is  the  shavings  the 
wooden  planes  made  as  he  con- 
structed furniture  for  the  neighbors 
in  our  town. 

Keep  a  history  of  your  family  and 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA,  JANUARY,  1941 


yourself.  It  is  this  that  has  pre- 
served to  us  some  of  the  best  knowl- 
edge we  have  of  the  early  history  of 
our  Church.  What  a  pleasure  it  is 
now,  after  all  these  years,  to  read 
what  they  went  through. 

Collect  the  old  books  of  your  fam- 
ily; read  the  book  or  tract  that  was 
the  means  of  opening  the  eyes  of 
your  grandparents  to  the  Gospel  in 
some  foreign  land.  Sing  the  songs 
from  the  same  book  they  carried 
across  the  plains,  songs  that  made  it 
possible  for  them  to  keep  up  courage 
along  the  weary  way. 

The  joy  that  comes  in  the  pursuit 
of  these  many  hobbies  is  something 
that  simply  has  to  be  experienced. 

The  search  for  rare  stones  led  me 
to  the  workings  of  the  old  Calico 
mining  district  on  the  Mojave  Des- 
ert in  California.  There  one  of  the 
old  settlers  told  me  a  story  of  a  dog 
that  should  make  any  dog-lover 
think  more  of  his  friend: 

A  mountain  range  divided  two 
camps;  the  mail  was  brought  from 
the  valley  below  each  day  and  then 
was  packed  over  the  mountain  on 
foot  because  of  the  long  distance 
around.  This  particular  dog  had 
followed  his  master  for  a  year  or  so 
on  his  daily  trips,  when  the  master 
suddenly  died.  The  dog  by  this  time 
had  been  carrying  the  mail  in  a  spe- 
cially arranged  pack  saddle.  The 
dog  finished  the  trip  alone  and 
brought  care  to  his  master  where  he 
lay.  From  that  day  until  the  dog 
finally  died  he  made  the  route  alone 
every  day,  rain  or  shine.  He  guard- 
ed the  precious  letters,  and  no  one 
was  able  to  hold  him  up  or  take  the 
mail  from  him.  People  living  in  the 
neighborhood  all  have  pictures  of 
this  famous  dog  and  love  to  tell  of  his 
faithfulness. 

This  same  neighborhood  also  has 
in  it  an  interesting  man  worth  men- 
tioning. He  has  chosen  this  dreary 
place  to  live  because  it  offers  him 
more  liberties  and  the  things  he  loves 
to  do  than  any  other  section  of  coun- 
try. His  love  for  the  desert  has 
made  a  rock  lover  of  him,  and  he  has 
a  fine  collection  of  semi-precious 
gems.  Because  of  his  intimacy  with 
the  desert  he  is  in  great  demand  by 
the  movie  companies  as  guide  and 
by  magazines  for  his  interesting  ar- 
ticles on  desert  life.  He  has  dis- 
covered a  very  wonderful  cave,  soon 
to  be  opened  to  the  public.  He  has 
developed  as  another  of  his  hobbies 
that  of  archery.  He  can  shoot  birds 
on  the  wing.  He  has  killed  wild 
boars,  sheep,  deer,  snakes,  lizards. 
He  calls  anyone  who  uses  a  rifle  for 


these  things  a  sissy.  He  gave  me 
as  a  souvenir  my  card  with  a  hole  in 
the  center  made  at  thirty  feet  with  an 
arrow.  His  hobbies  have  made  him 
independent  and  famous.  The  world 
has  beaten  a  path  out  to  his  lonely 
place. 

T-Tere  is  another  example  of  the 
practical  side  of  hobbies.  My 
boyhood  friend  started  taking  pic- 
tures and  developing  them.  His 
hobby  came  in  handy  during  the  de- 
pression. After  his  business  failed, 
he  tried  to  find  work  but  none  was 
to  be  had.     He  then  thought  of  his 


THIS  DOG'S  PICTURE  HANGS  IN  THE  HOMES 
OF  MOST  OF  THE  PEOPLE  WHO  STILL  REMEM- 
BER THE  BOOM  DAYS  OF  THE  OLD  MINING 
TOWN  OF  CALICO,  CALIFORNIA. 


old  photography  hobby.  He  mort- 
gaged his  furniture  to  buy  the  ma- 
terials with  which  to  build  himself 
a  camera.  The  outcome  of  this  was 
that  he  set  himself  up  in  business, 
and  he  prospered  and  now  has  a 
comfortable  home  in  Logan,  Utah, 
and  is  supporting  his  son  in  the 
mission  field.  Who  knows  when  cir- 
cumstances may  make  a  complete 
change  in  one's  vocation  necessary. 
The  story  is  told  in  the  Boston 
Transcript  about  old  man  McFadd 
asking  young  Smart,  "Do  you  collect 
anything?" 

"Why,  yes,  I  sometimes  collect 
my  thoughts,"  said  young  Smart 
with  a  smile. 

Old  McFadd  remarked  with  satis- 
faction, "Your  specimens  are  no 
doubt  very  rare."  The  point  I  am 
trying  to  make  is  that  anyone  with- 
out any  special  interests  in  life  is 
not  living  as  abundantly  as  he 
should.  Walter  Russell  Bowie  tells 
of  receiving  a  letter  from  one  of  his 
small  nephews  who  was  just  learn- 
ing to  write;  he  closed  it  thus,  "I  love 


you  and  hope  you  live  all  your  life." 
Most  of  us  are  not  living  all  our 
lives. 

My  music  hobby  has  brought  to 
me  much  of  the  goodness  of  life; 
it  cheered  me  up  while  out  on  the 
lonely  dry  farm  as  a  youngster;  it 
got  me  into  the  mandolin  club  at 
the  Agricultural  College  in  Utah; 
it  helped  me  in  the  crowd  and  earned 
me  my  spending  money  as  a  lad;  it 
put  me  in  the  band  and  the  parades 
on  such  days  as  Peach  Day  and  other 
celebrations;  it  got  me  my  wife,  for 
I  first  met  her  while  playing  in  a 
brass  quartet  in  her  ward.  Recently 
my  hobby  made  it  possible  for  me 
to  spend  the  week-end  at  the  fash- 
ionable Arrowhead  Mountain  resort 
in  California.  Learn  to  play  some 
instrument  even  if  it  is  just  a  har- 
monica or  jew's-harp.  It  is  not 
enough  to  be  a  lover  of  music;  one 
should  be  a  maker  of  good  music. 

A  hobby  that  has  just  recently 
developed  with  me  is  that  of  col- 
lecting pretty  rocks  and  polishing 
them.  My  collection  is  made  up  of 
materials  from  all  over  the  world. 
Some  of  my  gems  are  precious,  at 
least  to  me.  To  most  people  a  rock 
is  just  something  to  throw  at  the  dog, 
but  to  a  rock-hound  it  is  in  most 
cases  a  thing  of  beauty  and  a  joy 
forever.  There  are  over  1,500  dis- 
tinct minerals  and  each  has  been 
named.  About  a  hundred  of  these 
are  classed  as  gem  materials.  They 
are  divided  into  about  ten  major 
groups.  It  is  impossible  for  the 
average  person  to  collect  all  these 
materials,  so  it  is  best  to  specialize 
in  some  field  that  interests  one  most. 

It  would  be  an  oversight  if  I 
closed  this  article  without  telling  you 
how  happy  I  am  with  my  book-col- 
lecting hobby.  I  have  in  my  library 
nearly  every  book  or  publication  the 
Church  has  ever  printed.  I  am 
'proud  of  my  set  of  Eras  and  Con- 
tributors, my  many  Millennial 
Stars  and  Liahonas  and  Relief  So- 
ciety  Magazines.  The  lives  of  the 
leaders  of  the  Church  stand  out  as 
an  inspiration  to  anyone  who  will 
read  their  histories.  Bind  your  con- 
ference reports,  Priesthood  and  Mu- 
tual manuals,  and  Sunday  School 
leaflets.  They  all  should  be  preserved 
and  studied.  Collect  and  save  the 
histories  of  your  own  ancestors. 
This  hobby  is  not  followed  as  much 
as  it  should  be  by  Latter-day  Saints. 
Hobbies,  hobbies — the  word  rings 
sweetly  in  my  ears.  May  you  be 
caused  to  pursue  some  hobby  that 
will  help  you  to  live  this  life  "all  the 
way." 

17 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,     JANUARY,     1941 


Why 

i  GO  TO 
CHURCH 

By  JOSEPH  J.  ANDERSON 

A     BRIEF  ANSWER  TO  ChANNING  PoL- 

•        lock  in  "The  Reader's  Digest," 
September,  1940. 


426  West  87  Place, 
Los  Angeles,  California. 
October  31,  1940. 

Reader's  Digest 

New  York,  New  York. 

Attention:  Church  Editor: 

With  this  letter  I  am  forwarding,  as 
per  your  invitation,  a  500-word  com- 
ment on  Channing  Pollock's  "Why  I 
Don't  Go  To  Church." 

Because  of  the  conditions  that  exist 
in  the  world  of  today,  doubt,  distrust, 
departure  from  old,  tested,  established 
standards,  I  feel  that  the  matter  should 
have  much  fuller  analysis.  Every  man 
has  a  right  to  decide  for  himself 
whether  he  will  attend  church  or  not, 
but  it  is  quite  another  matter  to  use 
the  press  to  fortify  and  exploit  his  fal- 
lacies. 

Throughout  an  active  life  of  75  years 
I  have  learned  that  the  physical  body 
needs  constant  care,  exercise,  and 
change,  and  daily  exercise  has  not  been 
neglected.  It  is  just  as  essential  that 
the  spiritual  side  of  life  have  persistent 
and  regular  care. 

Can  you  not  see  what  a  far-reaching 
effect  such  an  article  can  have  upon 
the  young  minds  in  the  formative  state; 
how  it  will  justify  remissness  and  short- 
comings along  other  lines  as  well?  That 
is  perhaps  the  greatest  cause  for  the 
regret  at  the  publishing  of  such  a  state- 
ment. Do  you  not  think  that  as  a  rep- 
resentative of  the  press  it  is  your  obli- 
gation to  see  that  the  truth  should  be 
placed  before  your  large  clientele? 

It  would  afford  me  great  pleasure  to 
enter  into  a  complete  analysis  of  the 
article  in  question.  There  is  so  much 
that  ought  to  be  said;  so  much  that 
needs  the  light  of  correct  thinking;  so 
many  fallacies  that  ought  to  be  an- 
swered. __  , 
Yours  sincerely, 

(Signed)  Joseph  J.  Anderson. 


426  West  87  Place, 
Los  Angeles,  California. 
October  31,  1940. 
Reader's  Digest, 

New  York,  New  York. 

Attention:  Church  Editor: 

IT  is  human  nature  to  make  alibis  for 
any  lapse  of  conduct  or  for  failure 
to  do  what  ought  to  be  done.  The 
article  by  Channing  Pollock  in  your 
18 


September  issue  is  illustrative  of  this. 
By  his  very  argument  against  church- 
going  and  proper  Sabbath  observance 
he  proves  that  down  deep  in  his  own 
heart  is  the  consciousness  that  such  is 
essential,  but  by  specious  arguments  he 
reasons  himself  away  from  it. 

Duty  is  a  harsh  word  and,  unless  one 
wills  to  make  it  pleasant  and  profitable, 
it  may  become  irksome,  even  repugnant 
and  perhaps  meaningless. 

Upon  Mt.  Sinai,  the  Lord's  finger 
wrote  upon  the  stone  tablets  a  guide  to 
man's  right  action.  Fourth  in  sequence 
and  importance  came  the  divine  injunc- 
tion, "Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to 
keep  it  holy."  "To  keep  it  holy" — to 
refrain  from  the  ordinary,  the  sensuous 
or  sensual  things,  life's  daily  grind,  and 
of  course  to  concentrate  upon  the  sub- 
lime, the  spiritual,  and  the  uplifting;  to 
read  and  study  the  Divine  word,  learn 
the  Divine  will. 

"But  for  me,"  says  our  writer,  "go- 
ing to  church  has  no  more  to  do  with 
religion  than  listening  to  Fourth  of  July 
orations  or  the  singing  of  'The  Star 
Spangled  Banner'  has  to  do  with  pa- 
triotism." Thus  he  ignores  a  basic 
psychological  law.  The  emotions  are 
cultivated  only  as  they  are  stirred  into 
action.  The  same  is  true  of  all  inherent 
God-given  human  attributes.  There  is 
no  other  way  of  growth  than  through 
self-activity.  Well  do  I  remember,  as  a 
child,  how  the  marvelous  Fourth  of  July 
oration,  the  expressive  reading  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  the  rous- 
ing strains  of  "The  Star  Spangled  Ban- 
ner" caused  my  blood  to  tingle,  my 
whole  being  to  vibrate  with  intense 
emotions  of  patriotism.  Just  so  are  the 
religious  emotions  developed;  they 
bloom  into  perfection  by  their  exercise, 
by  the  study  of  God  and  His  goodness, 
and  of  His  will  concerning  man's  mortal 
career. 

"Too  much,"  Pollock  continues,  "of 
what  is  said  in  church  has  been  said 
thousands  of  times.  Anything  habitual 
loses  its  cogency."  Would  the  author 
argue  that  because  he  has  bathed  him- 
self thousands  of  times,  no  further  ablu- 
tions are  necessary?  or  that  because 
during  a  half  century  he  has  consumed 
a  few  thousand  meals,  no  further  feed- 
ing is  essential?  The  spiritual  part  of 
man  needs  constant  care  and  feeding 
just  as  does  the  physical.  Millions  of 
the  human  race  are  starving  spiritually 
and  do  not  know  it. 

Habit  may  become  man's  greatest 
ally.  Can  it  be  truly  said  that  sinking 
essential  things  into  habit  in  any  sense 
destroys  their  cogency?  "Ye  shall 
know  the  truth  and  the  truth  shall  make 
you  free."  If  he  is  looking  for  the  truth, 
our  friend  will  find  it,  and  finding  it, 
consistency  urges  following  wherever 
it  leads. 

To  me,  church  affiliation — participa- 
tion— seems  of  prime  importance. 
Mingling  with  others  in  divine  worship 
begets  uplift,  inspiration,  courage  re- 
ceived in  no  other  way. 

Joseph  J.  Anderson. 


"WHOLEHEARTED 
LEADERSHIP  IS  THE 


// 


KEY  TO  SUCCESS 


By  Fred  Oliver,  Central  Park  Ward 

'"Phe  all-important  subject  of  Priest- 
hood  leadership  is  commanding  in- 
creasing attention  in  Latter-day  Saint 
affairs.  The  progress  of  the  Church 
depends  upon  the  progress  of  the 
Priesthood.  That  is  to  say,  when 
the  Priesthood  is  active,  the  Church 
surges  forward;  when  it  generally  is 
inactive,  through  lacking  in  leadership, 
the  Church  suffers.  The  organizations 
of  the  Church  are  but  helps  to  the 
Priesthood,  which  definitely  places  the 
Priesthood  quorums  in  the  position  of 
leadership.  They  should  be,  as  one  of 
our  Apostles  has  said,  "so  ably  con- 
ducted, so  faithfully  attended,  and  so 
thoroughly  serviceable  as  to  set  an 
example  to  all  other  Church  organiza- 
tions." 

That  being  true,  the  responsibilities 
of  leadership  that  fall  upon  those  en- 
gaged in  Priesthood  activity  are  clear. 
Success  in  quorum  work  being  our  goal, 
we  see  at  once  the  necessity  of  whole- 
hearted leadership  if  we  are  to  achieve 
that  success. 

We  might  logically  ask  ourselves: 
"Why  do  we  need  leadership  at  all? 
What  is  its  purpose  and  why  can  we 
not  get  along  without  it?"  The  prophet 
Joseph  Smith  shed  some  light  on  this 
problem  when  he  said:  "The  sociality 
among  men  is  the  same  everywhere, 
here  and  in  the  life  hereafter."  Putting 
this  another  way,  men  collectively  are 
made  up  of  a  great  many  followers  and 
a  very  few  leaders.  The  whole  history 
of  humanity  is,  in  one  sense,  simply  a 
study  of  leadership,  what  men  have 
done  and  how  they  have  accomplished 
it.  All  of  them  have  been  leaders, 
else  they  would  not  have  been  granted 
space  in  the  pages  of  history.  The 
Bible  is  a  history  of  the  prophets  of 
God,  leaders  among  men,  in  a  very  real 
respect. 

The  point  we  wish  to  draw  out  is 
that  leadership  is  a  universal  and  ever- 
lasting factor  in  the  progress  of  man- 
kind, that  it  is  an  essential  element  in 
producing  growth  and  achievement, 
which  are  the  components  out  of  which 
eternal  life  is  fashioned.  Salvation  is 
a  question  of  growing  and  achieving. 
It  is  not  perfection;  it  is  progress  toward 
perfection.  It  is  the  increasing  of  in- 
telligence and  unfolding  of  power.  In 
a  word,  "The  glory  of  God  is  intelli- 
gence." May  we  not  go  further  and 
say,  "The  glory  of  man  is  intelligence"? 
Leadership  is  the  motivating  or  driving 
force  that  brings  about  growth  and 
achievement. 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,     JANUARY,    1941 


THwudaqsL 

By 

PRESIDENT 
J.  REUBEN  CLARK,  JR. 

Of  the  First  Presidency 

There  are  too  many  marriages  of 
our  young  people  that  are  mere 
civil  marriages — marriages  for 
time.  This  is  much  to  be  regretted. 
It  is  a  situation  that  calls  for  remedy 
from  every  bishop,  from  every  aux- 
iliary organization,  and  from  every 
parent. 

After  its  absence  from  the  earth  for 
hundreds  and  hundreds  of  years,  the 
Lord  revealed  in  this  Dispensation 
of  the  Fulness  of  Times,  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  eternity  of  the  marriage 
covenant,  and  He  restored  to  the 
earth  the  divine  authority  to  con- 
summate it.  This  revelation  and  this 
restoration  makes  of  marriage  a  holy 
relationship,  out  of  which  and  out 
of  which  only,  can  come  man's  great- 
est glory  and  exaltation. 

You  young  people  are  trifling 
with  your  divine  destiny,  you  are 
treating  lightly  a  great  command- 
ment, you  are  casting  aside  as  dross 
the  greatest  opportunity  that  comes 
into  your  life,  when  you  fail  or  re- 
fuse to  be  married  in  our  temples 
where  husband  and  wife  may  be 
sealed  for  time  and  for  all  eternity 
by  the  men  bearing  the  Holy  Priest- 
hood of  God.  A  civil  marriage,  and 
that  is  all  any  marriage  is  that  is  per- 
formed outside  the  temple,  merely 
legalizes  a  marital  relationship.  It 
has  none  of  the  effects  of  a  sealing 
for  time  and  eternity. 

You  young  people,  if  you  think 
enough  of  one  another  to  marry  at 
all,  you  should  love  one  another 
enough  to  wish  to  perpetuate  your 
association  forever;  if  you  do  not 
think  enough  of  one  another  for  that, 
you  may  well  hesitate  long  before 
you  decide  to  go  forward  in  life 
otherwise.  The  situation  is  not 
changed  by  having  your  bishop  or 
president  of  stake,  or  some  ex-bishop 
friend,  or  like  persons,  perform  the 
ceremony  for  time.  All  these  are 
civil  marriages  only. — From  the  Oc- 
tober, 1940,  General  Conference 
messages. 


INVENTORY 

By  GRACE  YONEKO  OKIMOTO 

Of  the  Japanese  Mission 


Nathaniel  Hawthorne  is  quoted 
as  follows: 

Happiness  in  this  world,  when  it 
comes,  comes  incidentally.  Make  it  the 
object  of  pursuit,  and  it  leads  us  a 
wild  goose  chase,  and  is  never  attained. 
Follow  some  other  object,  and  very  pos- 
sibly we  find  that  we  have  caught  happi- 
ness without  dreaming  of  it,  but  likely 
enough  it  is  gone  the  moment  we  say  to 
ourselves,  "Here  it  is!"  like  the  chest  of 
gold  that  treasure-seekers  find. 

The  other  day  as  I  sauntered  along 
Fort  Street,  I  saw  a  sign  in  a  dress  shop 
which  read,  "After- Inventory  Sale. 
Big  Reductions."  The  show  window 
of  a  shoe  store  displayed  in  huge,  red 
letters,  "Clearance  Sale.  All  goods 
must  go  to  make  room  for  new  stock." 
The  many  stores  lined  on  the  street  all 
seemed  to  have  some  kind  of  sale  going 
on  and  the  sales,  though  worded  differ- 
ently, all  had  the  same  objective  in 
view — to  get  rid  of  goods  that  had  lain 
on  the  shelves  for  a  long  time,  goods 
that  had  taken  much  storage  space  but 
could  not  be  disposed  of  heretofore. 

It  occurred  to  me  that  I,  too,  should 
take  an  inventory  of  the  stock  I  pos- 
sessed in  my  own  store.  I  began  my 
inventory  by  looking  into  one  corner 
of  my  store,  and  there  I  found  that  I 
had  accumulated  yards  and  yards  of 
the  habit  of  putting  things  off.  I  had 
letters  to  answer,  books  to  read,  lessons 
to  study,  calls  to  make,  and  I  had  been 
saying  all  along,  "I'll  do  it  some  other 
day,"  when  wise  men  and  sages  of  old 
had  taught  us  "Never  put  off  till  to- 
morrow what  you  can  do  today." 
realized  that  if  I  kept  putting  things  off 
some  day  it  would  be  too  late  for  me 
to  make  up  the  work  which  I  am 
delaying  now. 

I  looked  into  another  corner  of  my 
store  and  discovered  there  a  great  roll 
of  complaints  that  I  had  made,  com- 
plaints about  the  material  and  personal 
things  of  life,  about  the  wealth  that 
others  had  and  which  I  did  not  possess. 
Yet  I  had  learned  to  recite  by  memory 
the  19th  and  20th  verses  of  the  sixth 
chapter  of  Matthew,  where  Christ  said: 

Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon 
earth,  where  moth  and  rust  doth  corrupt, 
and  where  thieves  break  through  and  steal: 
But  lay  up  for  yourselves  treasures  in  hea- 
ven, where  neither  moth  nor  rust  doth  cor- 
rupt, and  where  thieves  do  not  break  through 
nor  steal. 

I  looked  into  one  of  the  shelves  in  my 
little  store  and  saw  there  the  hatred  that 
I  had  stored  toward  some  of  my  asso- 
ciates. I  opened  a  box  which  lay  there 
and  saw  there  the  times  that  I  had 
quarreled  and  the  consequent  result  of 


not  being  on  speaking  terms  with  that 
person  any  more.  TTien  with  a  pang 
of  regret  I  felt  the  force  of  Christ's 
glorious  words  in  the  fifth  chapter  of 
Matthew,  where  He  had  said: 

Love  your  enemies,  bless  them  that  curse 
you,  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you,  and 
pray  for  them  that  despitefullv  use  you 
and  persecute  you. 

I  saw  that  the  goods  under  the  head- 
ing of  "laziness"  were  increasing.  There 
lying  before  me  were  the  times  that  I 
had  fallen  into  the  temptations  laid  be- 
fore me,  when  I  had  sat  around  killing 
time  when  I  had  much  work  to  do.  I 
realized  that  my  time  here  is  limited, 
that  I  am  here  to  work  out  my  own 
salvation,  and  that  now  is  the  time  for 
me  to  strive  to  overcome  all  obstacles 
and  work  toward  the  highest  degree  of 
glory  which  is  the  ultimate  reward  for 
those  who  strive  to  come  nearer  unto 
God. 

And  so  I  continued  to  take  an  inven- 
tory of  the  stock  I  possessed  in  my  little 
store  within  me.  I  found  that  I  had 
many  goods  which  I  should  dispose  of 
and  put  in  its  place  some  other  goods 
which  would  help  to  make  my  store 
one  filled  with  unperishable  assets.  I 
found  that  I  could  increase  my  stock  in 
some  goods  with  the  room  I  had  by 
getting  rid  of  the  things  which  I  did  not 
care  to  have.  Upon  completing  my  in- 
ventory I  found  that  I  had  many  goods 
that  I  could  list  for  sale  under  the 
heading  of  "After-Inventory  Sale — Big 
Reductions,"  or  "Clearance  Sale — all 
goods  must  go  to  make  room  for  new 
stock." 

Though  others  may  not  care  to  buy 
these  goods  from  me,  there  is  one  person 
who  will  take  them  all  away  for  me, 
who  will  help  me  to  keep  my  new 
goods  in  good  order,  who  will  com- 
fort me  and  guide  me  in  traveling  over 
life's  solemn  main,  and  that  person  is 
our  Savior,  Jesus  Christ.  To  Him 
and  to  our  Father  in  Heaven,  I  can  go 
and  communicate  through  the  means 
of  prayer  the  trials  and  problems  of  my 
heart. 

Let  us  remember  the  words  of  H.  G. 
Wells:  "Religion  is  the  first  thing  and 
the  last,  and  until  a  man  has  found  God 
and  has  been  found  by  God  he  begins 
at  no  beginning  and  works  to  no  end." 
Longfellow  tells  us  in  his  "Psalm  of 
Life"  that  "Not  enjoyment  and  not  sor- 
row is  our  destined  end  or  way,  but  to 
act  that  each  tomorrow  finds  us  farther 
than  today."  Tomorrow  should  find 
us  farther  on  in  the  path  of  righteous- 
ness and  glory  than  today,  and  only  by 
making  each  day  go  farther  can  we 
expect  to  attain  the  highest  degree  of 
salvation. 

19 


Five  years  on  the 

SAN  JUAN 


ns  a  lad  of  twelve  in  his  native 
London,  James  Davis,  whose 
uncle  David  had  brought  the 
message  of  Mormonism  to  the  fam- 
ily the  year  before,  longed  impa- 
tiently to  "gather  to  Zion."  Disap- 
pointment and  heart-break  were  his 
whenever  luckier  companions  em- 
barked, leaving  him  behind.  "I  think 
some  of  the  zeal  went  from  me,"  he 
wrote  of  one  time  four  years  later, 
in  1856,  when  his  parents,  who  had 
given  partial  consent  for  his  going 
to  America,  felt  at  the  last  moment 
that  they  could  not  part  with  him. 
But,  as  it  turned  out,  1856  was  the 
year  of  the  ill-fated  Martin  hand- 
cart company,  and  James  Davis  had 
reason  to  be  thankful  his  going  had 
been  delayed. 

In  London,  he  worked  as  a  coach- 
man, but  it  seemed  he  couldn't  save 
enough  money  for  his  passage  to  the 
land  of  his  desire.  "One  Sunday 
evening,"  he  relates,  "I  went  to  hear 
Apostle  Amasa  M.  Lyman  preach, 
and  at  the  close  of  the  meeting  the 
branch  president  told  the  people  that 
Brother  Lyman  was  very  much  in 
need  of  help.  I  had  only  the  money 
for  my  living  expenses  for  the  next 
day,  but  I  was  prompted  to  give  it  to 
him,  which  I  did.  Brother  Lyman 
blessed  me  and  said  I  would  soon 
have  the  greatest  desire  of  my  heart, 


A  COUNTRY  THAT  IS  HARD  ON  MAN  AND  BEAST. 

Photo  by  Sullivan   C.  Richardson. 


Compiled  by 

WILLIAM  MULDER 

from  accounts  of  James  and  Mary 
Elizabeth  Fretwell  Davis 


which  was  to  gather  to  Zion.  I  will 
never  forget  the  joyous  feeling  I  had. 
After,  money  seemed  to  come  my 
way  and  I  was  blessed  with  the  spirit 
of  saving,  so  much  so,  that  I  sailed 
on  the  next  ship,  called  the  John  J. 
Boyd." 

James  Davis  left  England  without 
a  penny  but  arrived  in  Salt  Lake 
City  with  money  jingling  in  his 
pocket,  for  while  crossing  the  plains 
he  had  a  job  as  teamster  and  cook. 
The  least  he  could  do,  he  thought,  to 
show  his  gratitude  was  to  turn  what 
money  he  had  left  to  the  bishop  as  a 
"thank  offering."  But  a  friend  ridi- 
culed the  idea,  and  the  money  was 
not  given.  "But  I  never  felt  well  about 
it,  and  things  did  not  seem  to  go  my 
way.  I  did  not  have  any  more 
promptings  and  seemed  to  be  left  to 
myself."  In  later  years  he  was  to 
seize  an  opportunity  to  make  amends. 

It  came  after  his  marriage  in  1864 
in  the  Endowment  House  to  Mary 
Elizabeth  Fretwell,  an  English  con- 
vert three  years  his  junior,  who  had 


Something  of  what  remains  untold 
in  pioneer  history  may  be  found 
between  the  lines  of  the  simple  biog- 
raphies of  the  men  and  women  who  a 
scant  sixty  years  ago  penetrated  a 
remote  and  forbidding  country  at  the 
call  of  their  Church  leaders.  "Ho!  for 
San  Juan"  said  an  early  advertise- 
ment in  the  Desecet  News.  "There 
are  many  Saints  needed  with  means 
and  muscle  to  help  settle  that  coun- 
try!" Such  a  call  was  a  mission,  and 
among  the  earliest  colonists  were 
James  and  Mary  Elizabeth  Fretwell 
Davis,  who  preceded  the  main  com- 
pany* to  the  San  Juan  region  by  six 
months.  There,  in  face  of  the  multi- 
threat  of  flood,  starvation,  exposure, 
disease,  and  Indian  attack,  they  suc- 
ceeded in  making  Montezuma  a  "com- 
munity" for  five  unbelievably  difficult 
years. 

The  names  of  these  humble  people 
have  received  fleeting  remembrance 
in  published  histories  of  the  San  Juan 
settlement  and  in  the  manuscript  rec- 
ord of  the  San  Juan  Stake,  but  here 
appear  excerpts  from  their  own  un- 
adorned account,  singularly  free  from 
overstatement,  void  of  a  single  word 
of  complaint,  and,  in  fact,  making  only 
passing  mention  of  the  succession  of 
hardships  that  must  have  made  up 
each  heart-breaking  day  of  their  five- 
year  mission  to  a  vindictive  country. 
They  left  this  only  witness  to  heroic 
lives  as  a  family  account  to  be  treas- 
ured by  their  children  and  grand- 
children. It  is  worth  a  wider  circle 
of  readers.  From  such  material  is  the 
whole  cloth  of  pioneer  history  finally 
woven.  The  men  and  women  who 
were  so  busy  making  history  they 
had  little  time  to  write  it,  have  un- 
wittingly borne  eloquent  testimony  to 
the  faith  that  was  in  them. 


*For  the  story  of  this  company's  amazing 
descent  through  Hole-in-the-Rock  and  its  in- 
credible journey  over  the  "impassable"  trail  on 
its  way  to  Bluff  on  San  Juan  River,  read  The 
Improvement  Era   for  January,   1940,   page  18. 


crossed  the  Atlantic  cm  the  ship 
Amazon,  memorialized  by  Charles 
Dickens  in  The  Uncommercial  Trav- 
eler— "His  eyes  seemed  to  be  on 
everyone,  and  as  he  walked  about 
the  ship,  he  was  writing,"  was  the 
way  Mary  Fretwell  remembered 
Dickens'  visit.  By  ox-team  the  young 
couple  had  journeyed  to  Cedar  City, 


20 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,     JANUARY,     1941 


MARY  ELIZABETH  FRETWELL 
DAVIS    AND    JAMES    DAVIS. 


where  their  first  home  had  been  a 
dugout,  the  birthplace  of  two  of  their 
children.  About  the  time  Dan  Jones 
arrived  in  Cedar  City,  the  Davises 
had  been  living  for  a  number  of  years 
in  a  self-built  log  hut. 

Brother  Dan  Jones  had  been  called 
on  a  mission  to  the  Navajo  Indians. 
His  stopping  in  Cedar  City  was  not 
by  choice.  He  could  go  no  farther, 
he  told  the  people  in  meeting,  until 
he  obtained  a  badly-needed  pack 
animal.  James  Davis  was  there  and 
heard  the  request.  "The  spirit  told 
me  to  get  the  pack  animal  for 
Brother  Jones.  I  was  overcome  with 
joy  and  could  scarcely  stay  until  the 
meeting  was  over.  Next  day  I 
bought  a  young  mule  and  gave  it  to 
Brother  Jones.  He  turned  to  Bishop 
C.  J.  Arthur  and  said,  'That's  the 
kind  of  men  the  Lord  will  not  part 
with.'  I  had  a  feeling  within  me  that 
the  Lord  had  forgiven  me  for  not 
paying  due  attention  years  before 
when  the  spirit  had  prompted  me  to 
pay  my  surplus  money  to  the  bishop 
as  a  thank  offering.  From  this  time 
we  were  blessed  financially.  We 
built  a  very  fine  brick  house  for  those 
days.  I  was  very  proud  of  my  home 
surroundings,  and  we  were  very 
happy  except  for  the  poor  health  of 
my  wife." 

So  poor  was  his  wife's  condition 
that  when,  on  December  29,  1878, 
they  were  called  on  a  mission  to  set- 
tle the  Arizona  country,  James  Davis 
felt  sure  it  was  a  misunderstanding. 
But  surprise  soon  gave  way  to  de- 
termination to  magnify  the  call. 
Erastus  Snow,  pioneer  leader  in 
charge  of  the  colonizaton,  had  asked 
that  all  be  ready  by  the  following 
April.  Home,  store,  and  land  were 
disposed  of  at  a  sacrifice,  and  on 
April  13,  1879,  the  Davis  family,  in 
company  with  several  young  men, 
left  Cedar  City.1  At  Parowan,  the 

xThe  scouts  who  accompanied  the  Davis  family  on 
April  13,  1879.  were,  from  Cedar  City:  J.  C.  Duncan, 
Robert  Bullock,  John  T.  Grower,  Thomas  Bladden, 
H.  Joseph  Wilson,  George  Urie,  George  Perry,  and 
Kuman  Jones;  from  Paragonah:  Silas  Smith  and  five 
of  his  sons;  from  Parowan:  James  Adams,  G.  H.  Hobbs, 
J.  B.  Decker,  Wilson  Dalley,  Isaac  Allen,  Del  Mc- 
Gregor, Hanson  Bayles,  P.  R.  Butts,  Z.  Decker,  and 
John  C.   Dalton. 


family  of  H.  H.  Harriman  joined 
them,  making  a  total  of  twenty-six 
men,  two  women,  and  eight  chil- 
dren as  the  vanguard  of  the  larger 
company  which  was  to  follow  them 
south  and  east  in  the  fall,  James 
Davis  has  left  an  outline  of  the 
events  which  overtook  that  little 
band,  an  unassuming  record  which 
leaves  the  greater  part  unsaid: 

"Before  we  left,  Bishop  Arthur  bless- 
ed my  wife  and  told  her  if  she  would 
go  and  do  her  part  her  health  would  be 
restored,  and  that  she  would  never  be 
called  on  to  part  with  another  child,  for 
out  of  our  eight  children  we  had  buried 
four.  He  also  told  her  that  the  Lord 
would  protect  us,  and  our  lives  would 
be  spared. 

"We  traveled  many  long,  dreary 
weeks,  crossing  over  the  same  region 
the  Spanish  had  crossed  in  1540.  The 
Indians  said  we  were  the  first  whites  to 
pass  that  way  since  that  time.  The 
Spaniards,  like  the  Indians,  had  car- 
ried water  containers,  but  we  were  un- 
prepared for  this  emergency.  We  dug 
numerous  wells  with  great  effort  under 


the  rocks  and  in  the  sinks.  Some  of 
these  yielded  water  and  some  did  not. 
We  suffered  a  great  deal,  and  one-third 
of  our  cattle  died. 

"Every  morning  my  wife  would  ar- 
range the  children  in  the  bottom  of  the 
wagon,  then  climb  to  the  high  spring 
seat  and  drive  a  team  all  day.  There 
were  only  Indian  trails  to  mark  the  way, 
so  driving  was  a  difficult  task.  In 
crossing  the  Buckskin  Mountains,  we 
cut  notches  in  the  sandstone  for  a  foot- 
ing for  our  horses.  We  had  to  hitch 
eight  teams  to  one  wagon  to  pull  it  to 
the  top.  Then  we  would  take  all  the 
teams  off,  tie  a  rope  to  the  rear  axle 
of  the  wagon,  and  with  all  the  men  hold- 
ing the  rope  we  would  let  the  wagon 
down  the  mountain  in  safety.  At  night 
we  would  fortify  with  our  wagons  as 
protection  against  the  Indians. 

"About  the  middle  of  May,  we 
crossed  the  Colorado  at  Lee's  Ferry  and 
stopped  at  a  small  village  called  Moen- 
copi,  settled  by  some  Moquich,  Oriba, 
Hopi,  and  Navajo  Indians,  and  a  few 
white  people.  Among  them  were  Wil- 
ford  Woodruff,  there  on  a  vacation, 
and  John  W.  Young,  son  of  President 
Brigham  Young,  who  was  building  a 
woolen  mill  to  take  care  of  the  great 
amount  of  wool  the  Indians  produced. 
They  advised  us  with  families  to  stay 
there  on  account  of  the  danger  ahead 
of  us,  and  let  the  young  men  go  and 
find  a  suitable  country  to  locate.  We 
did  so,  and  notwithstanding  the  wind 
blew  the  sand  continually,  we  enjoyed 
our  stay  at  Moencopi  very  much. 

**Tn  two  months,  on  the  first  of  July, 
A  five  of  the  scouts  returned  and  re- 
ported finding   a  place.     We   started 
(Continued  on  page  53) 


TWISTS  OF  THE  SAN  JUAN    FROM 
THE  TOP   OF  WILD   HORSE   MESA. 

Photo  by  Sullivan  C.  Richardson. 


•  LOOKING  BACK  AT  / 


By  WILLIAM  and  DEWEY  FARNSWORTH 

Publishers  of  "Buried  Empires  of 

South  America"  and  "Grandeurs  of 

Ancient  America." 


CHAN-CHAN,  THE  CAPITAL  CITY  OF  THE  CHIMUS 

Long  ago  the  Chimus,  a  people  antedating  the  Incas,  built  their  great  capital  of  Chan-Chan 
near  the  site  of  the  present-day  Peruvian  city  of  Trujillo.  Although  its  walls  have  endured 
time's  assaults  for  countless  centuries,  they  are  fast  crumbling  now,  especially  from  the  action  of 
repeated  floods  on  their  adobe  structure.  From  the  air,  one  can  obtain  the  best  idea  of  the  once 
vast  extent  of  the  city  and  trace,  even  indistinctly,  the  remains  of  what  once  were  its  temples, 
palaces,  plazas,  gardens,  and  reservoirs.  The  material  used  in  the  building  of  Chan-Chan  was 
of  a  hardened  substance  about  half  adobe  and  half  cement.  Late  explorers  have,  in  uncovering 
and  cleaning  the  walls,  found  carvings  like  those  on  the  building  of  Metla  Oaxaca,  Mexico,  also 
carvings  of  the  feathered  serpents  like  those  of  the  great  cement  city  of  Teotihuacan,  twenty- 
eight  miles  from  Mexico  City.     250,000  people  lived  in  Chan-Chan. 


THE  GREAT  STONE  WHEELS  OF  THE  PRE-INCANS 
Evidences  in  Mexico,  Central  America,  and  Peru  lead  us  to  conclude  that  all  the  ancient 
peoples  of  America  understood  and  practiced  the  principle  of  the  wheel.  No  means  of  trans- 
portation known  today  is  equal  to  the  task  of  moving  some  of  the  huge  stone  remains  which  have 
been  found.  These  huge  stone  wheels  were  all  of  one  size  and  weight  and  so  perfectly  syn- 
chronized that  they  could  have  been  used  interchangeably  on  the  same  vehicle.  The  enormous 
blocks  of  stone  used  in  the  construction  of  the  ancient  temples  of  Peru  were  hewn  from  quarries 
four  to  fifteen  leagues  distant  from  the  building  sites,  fashioned  and  transported  across  rivers 
and  over  ravines,  raised  to  their  elevated  positions,  and  adjusted  with  the  nicest  accuracy. 


THE  INCA  CITY-FORTRESS  OF  MACHU  PICCHU,  BOLIVIA,  SOUTH  AMERICA 
In  the  towering  Andes  Mountains,  perched  nine  thousand  feet  above  sea  level,  on  top  of  a 
ridge  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  called  Huayna  Picchu  and  protected  on  all  sides  by  precipices  and 
on  three  sides  by  the  rapids  of  the  Urubamba  River,  two  thousand  feet  below,  is  the  mysterious 
and  ancient  Inca  city-fortress.  Massive  blocks  of  granite  fit  together  perfectly  without  the  use 
of  mortar  or  cement.  Many  of  the  houses  are  a  story  and  a  half  in  height,  with  gable  ends 
which  have  projecting  cylinders  and  four-ring  stones  to  which  rafters  were  tied.  These  homes 
contain  an  unusual  number  of  windows,  divided  in  formations  of  three,  but  the  most  remarkable 
feature  of  all  is  the  great  number  of  well-built  granite  stairways,  there  being  over  two  hundred 
large  and  small  within  the  walls  of  the  city.  The  exquisite  finish  of  their  stone-cutting  resembles 
that  of  the  fortress  of  Sacasahuaman   in   the  Cuzco  valley. 

{Editor's  note:  "Buried  Empires  of  South  America,"  as  announced  on 
the  book  page  of  the  December  and  January  "Era"  is  now  off  the  press  and 
available  through  Deseret  Book  Company  and  other  agencies  of  distribution. ) 


LINE  UPON  LINE 

CONVERT  TESTIFIES  OF 
GOSPEL  PRINCIPLES 

By  Lyman  Collins 
Byron,  Wyoming. 

Pleven  years  ago  a  bookbinder  came 
to  Powell  to  rebind  the  books  of 
the  Powell  schools  which  were  in  need 
of  repair.  As  I  went  by  the  school- 
house  one  day,  I  saw  his  old  car  stand- 
ing outside.  I  was  a  car  salesman  at 
the  time,  and  an  old  car  was  an  in- 
triguing sight.  I  went  in  and  finally 
broached  the  subject  of  a  new  car  to 
the  bookbinder.  I  can  still  remember 
what  he  said:  "I'm  not  going  to  get 
a  new  car  until  I  can  pay  cash  for  it 
without  jeopardizing  my  security."  And 
he  went  on  to  give  me  my  first  lesson 
in  the  Gospel.  .  ,  . 

I  was  baptized  and  confirmed  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Latter-day  Saints  more  than  ten 
years  ago.  Upon  joining  the  Church  I 
had  many  problems  and  habits  to  deal 
with.  In  fact,  it  seemed  that  what  I 
had  come  to  believe  contradicted  a  large 
part  of  my  life.  Particularly  regard- 
ing the  Word  of  Wisdom  did  I  have 
difficulty.  It  was  at  a  conference  held 
in  Lovell  that  I  received  the  most  valu- 
able advice,  I  believe,  I  have  ever  re- 
ceived. The  visiting  member  of  the 
General  Authorities  spoke  on  the  topic 
of  self-advancement.  He  recommended 
that,  although  we  might  not  be  able  to 
live  all  the  commandments  and  prin- 
ciples of  the  Gospel,  we  should  live 
those  within  our  ability.  He  said  that 
our  ability  would  grow.  It  is  my  testi- 
mony that  increased  power  does  come 
to  the  person  who  will  observe  well 
the  principles  of  the  Gospel  which  are 
within  his  ability. 

There  is  one  principle  of  the  Gospel 
that  has  been  my  temporal  and  spiritual 
salvation.  That  principle  is  tithing.  It 
is  the  principle  which  has  been  most 
easy  for  me  to  practice.  Although  at 
times  I  have  been  tempted  to  put  off  or 
reduce  my  tithing,  I  felt  that  only  as 
long  as  I  paid  it  I  had  a  right  to  call 
upon  the  Lord  to  aid  me  in  observing 
the  other  principles  which  might  be 
difficult  for  me.  I  know  that  the  bless- 
ings the  Lord  has  promised  those  who 
will  observe  His  teachings  do  not  fail. 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,     JANUARY,     1941 


IF  I  were  at  the  head  of  a  college, 
I  would  secure  a  man  of  uncom- 
mon common  sense  qualified  to  in- 
terview every  student.  It  would  be 
his  job  to  help  students  find  them- 
selves and  to  guide  them  into  paths 
they  are  best  fitted  to  travel  happily 
and  courageously. 

This  college 
would  be  made 
up  of  enthusi- 
astic students 
who  would  get 
joy  out  of  their 
classwork  and 
who  would  be 
made  to  feel 
happy  in  their 
a  s  signments. 
Such  a  class  I 
jhave  conducted 
over  a  period  of 
years,  for  my 
students  have 
told  me  how  happy  they  have 
been.  To  me  every  student  is  a  per- 
sonality, different  from  anyone  else. 
Each  student  is  given  a  chance  to  ex- 
press his  views  on  what  he  would  like 
to  do  and  then  is  guided  in  that  line 
with  the  greatest  of  care  that  he 
might  be  successful. 

If  you  take  a  small  child  into  an 
amusement  park  where  there  is  a 
swing,  a  teeter,  a  slide,  or  other 
healthful  amusements,  and  you 
keep  your  eyes  open,  you  soon  be- 
hold what  pleases  the  child  most. 
If  he  wants  to  swing 
and  you  insist  he  play 
in  the  sand  pile,  you 
at  once  create  an  un- 
happiness.  The  swing 
is  better  for  him  and 
he  knows  it,  because 
it  gives  his  play  of 
imagination  greater 
scope,  and  there  is  the 
thrill  of  going  up  and 
down  in  swinging 
that  one  does  not  get 
in  a  sand  pile. 

Well,  when  I  am  convinced  after 
talking  to  a  student  that  he  knows 
what  he  wants,  I  teach  him  what  I 
wish  to  teach,  but  in  doing  so  I 
teach  him  what  he  wants  also. 


satis 


Ledgers 


orut  ihsL(ljswUiL.  iB&qimimq. 


Along  about  this  time  of  the  year 
all  good  Latter-day  Saints  begin 
checking  up  on  their  tithing  ac- 
counts. Customs  as  well  as  people 
change,  for  when  I  was  a  lad,  we  paid 
tithing  in  kind.  That  is,  if  a  man  raised 
ten  loads  of  hay  he  paid  one;  if  he  had 
ten  calves  he  gave  one;  or  ten  sacks 
of  potatoes,  one,  and  so  on. 

Now  we  pay  in  cash,  and  there  is 
no  chance  for  us  to  put  all  of  the  little 
potatoes  in  the  bottom  of  the  sack,  so 
to  speak,  and  put  a  few  good  ones  on 
top  and  get  credit  for  such  as  can  be 
seen. 

Some  pay  tithing  every  pay-day, 
some  every  month,  and  still  others  pay 
at  the  end  of  the  year.  Which  way  is 
correct  I  personally  cannot  say,  but  I 
don't  think  it  matters  much  with  the 
Lord  just  as  long  as  it  is  an  honest 
payment. 

Father  was  a  bishop  for  many  years 
and  was  away  from  home  much  of  the 
time,  so  it  was  up  to  me  to  receive  tith- 
ing hay,  and  measure  the  loads,  figure 
the  weight,  stack  the  hay,  and  all  such. 
I  learned  a  great  number  of  tricks  a 
few  of  those  old-timers  played,  but 
this  should  be  said  to  the  credit  of  a 
great  majority  of  those  men — they  paid 
an  honest  tithing. 

Some  of  those  men  would  wait  until 
they  cut  the  very  finest  hay  and  then 
bring  that  kind  for  tithing.  The  best 
calf  in  the  ten  was  turned  in,  and  when 
they  brought  potatoes  you  could  de- 
pend on  those  potatoes  being  the  best, 
smooth  and  of  uniform  size.  Other  men 
brought  a  fair  average,  while  others 
just  paid  tithing,  and  every  spring  there 
would  be  a  large  pile  of  small  potatoes 
that  no  one  would  admit  he  had  given 
to  the  Lord  for  His  share. 

Father  always  said:  "One  can  tell 
what  kind  of  tithing  a  man  pays  by  the 
way  he  prospers,  or  fails  to  prosper." 
Such  did  seem  to  be  the  case,  for  those 
who  paid  the  best  they  had,  seemed 
happier  and  more  prosperous  than  those 
who  just  paid  an  average,  or  those  who 
just  brought  something,  anything. 


By  JAMES   P.  SHARP 


We  were  eating  supper  one  Sunday 
evening,  late  in  the  fall,  when  a  dear 
old  sister  came  to  the  house  crying  very 
demonstratively.  Her  story  was  that 
while  she  had  been  at  church  some  one 
had  stolen  her  tithing  cabbage,  but  had 
not  touched  her  own.  Father  asked  how 
she  could  tell  tithing  cabbage,  and  she 
said  that  when  she  set  the  plants  out 
she  put  a  stick  by  every  tenth  plant, 
and  those  had  been  stolen.  Father  told 
her  he  did  not  think  the  Lord  would 
care  if  she  paid  other  cabbage,  but  she 
insisted  those  that  were  stolen  belonged 
to  the  Lord  and  if  He  saw  fit  to  let 
some  one  steal  His  cabbage  she  did  not 
think  it  was  up  to  her  to  pay  a  second 
tithing.  Father  said  a  person  that  stole 
from  the  Lord  never  prospered.  She 
never  did. 

After  she  had  gone,  mother  said  she 
was  going  to  find  out  who  had  been  so 
mean  to  her.  While  we  were  doing 
chores,  I  asked  father  who  he  thought 
stole  the  cabbage,  and  he  said:  "Son, 
two  years  ago  some  one  stole  every 
tenth  row  of  her  carrots,  the  tithing 
ones.  One  year  ago  she  raised  ten  tur- 
keys, and  the  tithing  one  was  stolen.  I 
wonder  what  she  will  have  to  report 
stolen  next  year." 

Once  a  young  man  came  in,  all  busi- 
ness. He  had  asked  for  a  recommend, 
but  had  paid  no  tithing,  so,  got  none. 
He  pulled  an  account  book  from  his 
pocket  and  said:  "Bishop,  I  owe  you 
sixteen  dollars  tithing  for  two  years 
ago,  twenty  dollars  for  last  year  and 
twenty-two  dollars  for  this  year.  Fifty- 
eight  dollars,  is  that  correct?"  It  was. 

He  pulled  a  purse  from  his  pocket, 
counted  out  some  money,  put  it  back 
in  his  purse,  his  purse  in  his  pocket,  and 
said:  "I  don't  have  the  exact  change, 
lust  credit  me  with  that  amount  and 
I'll  pay  you  sometime — when  do  I  get 
my  recommend?" 

There  was  no  pause  between  "Time" 
and  "When."  I  saw  that  man  today 
walking  the  streets,  with  not  a  dollar 
to  his  name,  just  waiting  for  his  next 
relief  appropriation. 

23 


Sweet  w 


kww&xL  io  jckfi/uL  Ala.  tsuumA.  afjtsuv 
dhj&v&Jiinjc^  ihsL  sjmbiadictwvL  x>£,  cl 
qihL  wPw  wadu  JbDilv— 


SOPHISTICATED 


By  JOHN  SHERMAN  WALKER 


I 


t  should  have  been  the 
quiet,  grayish  eyes  of  Miss  Con- 
stance C  confiding  answer- 
woman  of  the  Evening  Call's 
"Heartthrobs  and  Problems"  col- 
umn, that  scanned  the  sheets  of  the 
letter,  signed,  "Mary  McKean," 
with  the  further  identifying  name, 
"Sweet  and  Sophisticated,"  for  the 
lines  of  that  letter  were  as  intimate 
as  the  throbbings  of  a  maiden's 
heart. 

Not  that  Bruce  Gordon,  of  The 
Call's  editorial  staff,  was  violating 
the  confidence  of  the  "col-yum,"  as 
he  opened  the  faintly  violet-scented 
envelope  that  had  come  in  that  af- 
ternoon's mail.  It  just  happened  that 
The    Call's    popular    answer-lady, 

Constance    C ,    had    taken     a 

week-end  trip.  Her  daily  column 
feature  had  been  made  up  for  only 
a  few  days  in  advance,  and  did 
not  allow  for  the  snow-blizzard  that 
caused  delay  on  the  return  trip.  It 
was  a  curious— and  unprecedented — 
situation. 

Bruce  Gordon  had  written  copy 
on  all  of  the  regular  city  runs — 
town  and  county  building — night 
police — theatres — and  sports,  in  his 
career  with  The  Call.  But  never 
had  he  served  in  the  capacity  of 
"answer-man." 

Haig,  The  Call's  city  editor,  had 
called  Gordon  into  the  inner  office 
of  the  "Heartthrobs  and  Problems" 
sanctuary  one  morning  the  week 
24 


previous,  and  had  simply  handed 
him  a  telegram  from  an  isolated 
little  town  upstate.  It  read:  "Snow- 
bound STOP  Can  you  carry  on  col- 
umn until  we  come?  Constance 
C ." 

Gordon,  vaguely  uneasy  as  he 
read,  had  looked  up  questioningly. 
Haig  merely  underlined  with  his 
pencil  the  last  words  of  the  tele- 
gram, "Can  you  carry  on  column 
until  we  come?" 

Gordon  had  asked:  "Is  that  an 
assignment?" 

And  Haig,  with  a  mild  smile 
about  his  Scotch  lips,  said,  "An  as- 
signment." 

Closing  the  Heartthrobs  door 
quietly  as  he  went  out — he  had  left 
Bruce  Gordon  to  solve  the  prob- 
lems within.  And  so,  there  was 
Bruce  Gordon  reading  the  revealing 
letter  of  this  Mary  McKean  who 
stated  her  problem  and  signed  her- 
self "Sweet  and  Sophisticated." 

Twice,  three  times,  Gordon  read 
over  the  letter: 

"Dear  Constance  C 

"You're  all  I  have  left  to  appeal  to — 
and  I'm  coming  with  a  pent-up  heart  of 
gall,  that  must  be  drained  of  its  bitterness 
— or  else! — 

"Constance,  dear,  have  you  ever  scan- 
ned yourself  in  the  mirror,  knowing  that 
you  were  very  pretty — and  perfect  in  your 
new  party  dress  ensemble,  as  you  drew  the 
luxury  of  a  silver  cape  about  your  shoul- 
ders— and  twinkled  off  on  silver  slippers 
— to  an  all-promising  party? 

"And  have  you  come  home  that  night 
disillusioned  and  drooping — and  cried  your- 
self to  sleep?  Have  you  done  that  once 
and  twice  and  thrice — and  after  that 
stayed  home  through  evenings  of  loneli- 
ness and  choked-up  misery — rather  than 
indulge  in  the  promiscuous  'petting,' 
drinking,  and  smoking  of  the  present-day 
parties? 

"I'm  not  seeking  pity  or  singing  self- 
praise,  but  only  making  a  sincere  analysis 
of  myself  when  I  tell  you  I'm  known  to 
be  a  charming,  more  than  ordinarily  at- 
tractive young  lady.  I  play  the  piano  well, 
sing,  and  like  dancing  exceedingly.  Can 
be  a  brilliant  conversationalist,  if  the  occa- 
sion calls  for  it — though  I'm  not  a  studious 
prude.  I'm  generous  and  can  be  warmly 
enthusiastic  over  a  great  many  things. 


"And  so  what  do  these  enthusiasms  and 
virtues  get  me — socially — in  this  day  and 
age?  Only — a  big  lonely  chair  at  home  by 
the  telephone,  that  after  a  while  doesn't 
ring  for  me  at  all — any  more.  And  I  love 
parties,  and  people — the  companionship 
of  girls  and  fellows — and  dancing  so  much! 

"If  sophistication  means  smartness  and 
chic  and  having  the  savoir-faire  of  the 
world — I'm  asking  you,  woman  to  woman, 
though  I  more  than  qualify  in  all  those 
things — what'll  I  do! 

(Signed)  Sweet  and  Sophisticated." 

1  he  empty  editorial 
rooms  were  silent  now  as  a  no- 
man's-land  in  lull  of  battle.  The 
earlier  muffled  barrage  from  the 
battery  of  linotypes  off  toward  the 
composing  room  was  but  an  echo. 
And  the  thundering  roll  of  the  big 
artillery-press  downstairs  had  long 
since  ceased. 

Gordon  mused — groping  to  word 
his  reply.  Vaguely,  phrases  were 
forming  in  his  mind.  Frowning,  he 
sauntered  back  to  the  typewriter 
and  stood  for  a  moment  idly  drum- 
ming his  finger-tips  on  the  desk-top. 
He  snapped  on  a  desk-lamp. 

At  once  another  unopened  letter, 
that  he  had  not  previously  noticed, 
near  the  typewriter,  caught  his  eye. 
It    was    addressed    to    Constance 

C and  secretary.  Mechanically 

Gordon  slit  the  envelope  with  a 
paper-knife  and  drew  out  the  en- 
closures: two  miniature  cardboard 
artist's  palettes — hand-marked  invi- 
tations for  two,  to  the  annual  Arts 
Masque,  to  be  held  that  night  in 
the  new  Art  Lodge. 

With  the  envelope  and  palettes 
still  in  hand  he  went  again  to  the 
window  and  standing  with  feet  wide 
apart,  as  though  to  balance  his 
thoughts,  he  glowered  down — 
straight  upon  the  radiant  sign  across 
the  street,  Ye  Olde  Costume  Shoppe. 

It  was  too  much.  Something 
seemed  forcing  his  thoughts  into 
one  channel.  He  blinked  and  thought 
swiftly.  No  time  for  costumes  now. 
Tuxedo — and  a   domino — for  him. 


-*-* 


IT  WAS  WRITTEN  ON  THE  CALL'S 
"HEARTTHROBS  AND  PROBLEMS" 
LETTERHEAD,  AND  MARY  CAUGHT 
HER  BREATH  IN  A  LITTLE  GASP  OF 
SURPRISE— AND  QUICKLY  LOOKED 
UP  AT  BRUCE  GORDON.  HE  WAS 
SMILING,  BUT  HIS  MASKED  EYES 
TOLD  HER  NOTHING. 


A  domino  half-mask  for  her — and 
her  own  formal  party  dress. 

Hmm-mm-n!  That  would  be  a 
test  of  one's  social  graces  and  tal- 
ents and  apparel.  To  go  formal  to 
an  Arts  Masquerade — where  per- 
sons would  be  informally  critical. 

Somehow,  though,  Bruce  Gordon 
was  inclined  to  the  belief  that 
"Sweet  and  Sophisticated"  would 
enjoy  herself  immensely  at  that  gay 
social  event.  He  was  certain  that 
she  could  be  her  own  sweet  self — 
and  also  an  entirely  "sophisticated" 
personality  there  among  the  smart- 
est of  the  smart. 

It  was  a  nice  point  to  prove.  And 
more  and  more  Bruce  desired  to  test 
his  theory.  Of  his  own  ability  to 
play  the  part  of  Mary  McKean's 
"perfect  escort" — for  the  one  night 
at  least — Gordon  was  quite  sure  of 
himself. 

Turning  quickly,  he  was  at  the 
desk-phone,  with  Mary's  address 
before  him,  calling  "Information." 
The  answer  came  back: 

"Lakewood  — The-r-ee  — oh — oh 
— two — thr— ' ' 


Ltordon  cut  short  the 
last  trilled  "three"  of  the  operator. 
He  was  thinking  swiftly.  He  had  an 
exciting  plan.  But  there  should  be 
someone  who  knew  them  both,  to 
introduce  them — he  and  Mary 
McKean. 

And  there  was  Judge  Landor.  The 
very  one,  of  course.  It  was  an  in- 
spiration. Judge  Landor,  as  a  patron 
of  the  arts,  would  unquestionably 
be  going  that  night. 

The  street  had  a  familiar  sound 
to  it.  The  judge,  an  old  acquain- 
tance of  Gordon's,  lived  on  that 
same  street;  and,  by  the  house  num- 
bers, not  far  from  the  Stuart  home, 
where  Mary  McKean  stayed. 

In  an  instant  Gordon  was  calling 
his  old  friend,  Judge  Landor,  ex- 
plaining to  him  his  plan  for  the  eve- 
ning, of  his  desire  to  meet  Mary 
McKean  and  to  take  her  that  night 
to  the  Arts  Masque  Ball. 

Judge  Landor,  laughing  in  his 
booming  voice,  after  assuring  Gor- 
don that  he  knew  the  Stuarts  and 
Mary  McKean  very  well,  at  once 
agreed  to  go  along  with  them  to  the 
Arts  Masque  and  make  the  intro- 
ductions at  unmasking  time.  Then 
Gordon  was  putting  through  his 
other  "Lakewood"  call. 

Mary  McKean  was  curled  in  a 
chair,  listening  to  low  music  over 
the    radio    when    Bruce    Gordon's 


APPROVEMENT     ERA,    JANUARY,    1941 


phone  call  came,  startling  her  from 
her  rather  blue  reverie;  he  greeted 
her  like  an  old  friend.  "Lucky  you're 
home  this  evening,  Mary.  I've  tick- 
ets for  two  to  the  Arts  Masque — 
tonight.  Will  you  come?  It's  sudden 
to  call  you  this  way,  I  know;  but 
it'll  be  a  surprise  party  for  me,  too. 
Say  you'll  accept." 

Her  perplexed  voice  demanded, 
"But,  who — who  is  it  that's  calling, 
please?" 

Bruce  Gordon  chuckled  and  re- 
plied, "One  who  knows  you  rather 
well,  Mary.  But  it's  masquerade, 
tonight,  you  know.  Let's  make  this 
an  adventure — keep  the  surprise — 
until  we  unmask.  We'll  not  have 
time  now  for  costumes.  We'll  go 
formal. 

"I'm  sending  a  messenger  with  a 
domino  mask- — and  violets.  Can  you 
be  ready  by  nine?" 

A  trifle  flurried,  she  hesitated, 
"We-U,  I  could.  Yes,  I  can — be 
ready  at  nine.  But — "  Gordon  re- 
assured her,  "I  have  asked  Judge 
Landor,  whom  we  both  know,  I  be- 
lieve, to  come  with  us — so  really 
there  is  no  reason  why  you  shouldn't 
accept." 

"With  Judge  Landor?"  her  voice 
was  gladly  accepting  then.  "Oh, 
then  I  shall  be  happy  to  accompany 
you." 

"Good,"  Gordon  exclaimed.  "At 
nine,  then.  Good-bye." 

1  en  minutes  later  Gor- 
don was  hurrying  from  the  costume 
shop  across  the  street,  then  to  a 
little  flower-shop  for  a  corsage  of 
rose-buds  and  violets,  and  again  en- 
tering the  editorial  offices  of  The 
Call,  he  sat  once  more  before  the 
typewriter. 

Rubbing  his  fingers,  still  tingling 
with  the  cold,  he  first  called  a  mes- 
senger, then,  in  an  inspired  mood, 
he  typed  out  an  answer  to  the  letter 
of  "Sweet  and  Sophisticated" — 
Mary  McKean. 

As  the  gorgon's-head  door- 
knocker sounded,  the  elderly  lady 
of  the  house  went  to  the  door  and 
from  the  doorway  Judge  Landor's 
rumbling  voice  speaking: 

"Good  evening,  Mrs.  Stuart.  Is 
Mary  ready?" 

The  matron's  voice  answered 
from  the  hallway, 

"Come  in,  please.  Mary  will  be 
down  presently." 

Entering  after  the  judge,   Bruce 

Gordon,  with  a  black  domino  mask 

covering   his  eyes,    looked   up   the 

{Continued  on  page  57) 

25 


QfaimkaL  ^ Aped  a  .  #£  ihsL 

WORD  OF  WISDOM 


By  M.  J.  MILES 

Dixie  Junior  College 


The  history  of  science  attests  the 
divine  origin  of  our  Word  of 
Wisdom.  On  the  twenty- 
seventh  day  of  February,  1833, 
Joseph  Smith  condemned  the  use  of 
tobacco,  alcoholic  drinks,  the  then 
current  hot  drinks  (tea  and  coffee), 
offered  dietary  suggestions,  and 
warned  his  followers  against  "de- 
signing men."  At  that  time  there 
was  no  evidence  to  justify  the  con- 
demnation. Its  "wisdom"  was  not 
so  obvious  as  it  is  today.  No  one 
can  claim  that  Joseph  Smith  uttered 
this  revelation  on  his  own  personal 
knowledge,  for  knowledge  of  the 
substances  and  practices  condemned 
did  not  exist  prior  to  the  date  of  this 
revelation. 

At  the  time,  all  science  was  in  its 
infancy,  and  many  fields  of  science 
were  not  known.  In  1833,  chemists 
knew  practically  nothing  of  caffeine 
and  theobromine.  No  scientific  study 
had  been  made  of  the  physiological 
effect  of  ethyl  alcohol.  Nicotine  was 
discovered  in  1828  by  Posselt  and 
Reimann,  but  no  information  regard- 
ing its  physiological  effects  was 
available  until  Haskell  published  his 
findings  in  1871.  Chemists  at  this 
time  had  no  clear  understanding  of 
atomic  and  molecular  concepts. 

Even  the  composition  of  water  had 
been  known  for  only  thirty-three 
years.  The  science  of  organic  chem- 
istry had  shed  its  swaddling  clothes 
barely  five  years  previous  to  this  time 
when  Woehler  demonstrated  the 
power  of  chemistry  to  create  and 
control  substances  involved  in  the 
"life  processes."  The  science  of 
dietetics  was  just  beginning  to  come 
into  existence,  as  the  first  experi- 
ments on  the  digestion  of  foods  were 
performed  eight  years  previously  by 
Beaumont. 

At  the  present  time  the  wisdom 
behind  our  Word  of  Wisdom  is 
greatly  enhanced  by  the  findings  of 
science.    Oakes1  and  Widtsoe2  have 

1Oakes.  Weston,  "Science  and  the  Word  of  Wis- 
dom," a   pamphlet  published  by  Deseret  News. 

2Widtsoe,  John  A.,  The  Improvement  Era,  34:516 
M931). 

26 


O 


NCE  IT  WAS  ACCEPTED  BY  FAITH  ALONE;  NOW 
SCIENCE  GIVES   IT   FURTHER   SUPPORT. 


related  the  findings  of  various  non- 
Mormon  scientists  which  show  that 
tobacco  is  definitely  harmful  to  man- 
kind. 

The  nicotine  which  tobacco  con- 
tains is  an  interesting  substance  from 
the  chemical  point  of  view.  Being 
alkaline,  it  exists  in  tobacco  as  salts 
of  citric  and  other  acids.  During 
the  process  of  smoking,  it  is  distilled 
out  of  the  tobacco  as  it  is  warmed 
by  the  heat  of  "smoking,"  and  since 
the  nicotine  is  present  in  the  smoke 
we  know  that  a  goodly  portion  of  it 
escapes  being  burned  or  becoming 
condensed  on  the  butt  end  of  the 
smoked  article.  Another  poisonous 
alkaloid  known  as  pyridine  is  also 
present  in  tobacco  smoke.  The  nico- 
tine molecule  contains  as  part  of  its 
structure  a  molecule  of  pyridine  and 
the  presence  of  the  latter  in  the 
smoke  is  likely  due  to  partial  de- 
composition of  some  of  the  nicotine. 

The  nicotine  in  tobacco  smoke 
exists  in  extremely  small  particles 
known  to  chemistry  as  colloids. 
These  particles  have  little  tendency 
to  coagulate  or  settle  by  virtue  of  the 
electric  charge  which  they  carry. 
This  condition  makes  smoking  pos- 
sible, because  it  withholds  the  great- 
er portion  of  the  poison  from  con- 
tact with  the  smoker's  lungs  and 
blood  stream,  thereby  permitting  the 
tobacco  user  to  live  to  finish  his  pipe, 
cigar,  or  cigarette.  This  is  not  an 
overstatement,  because  the  nicotine 
is  fully  as  poisonous  as  the  deadly 
cyanide.3  In  the  pure  state,  nicotine 
is  a  colorless,  odorless  liquid  and 
more  than  ten  times  as  poisonous  as 
coniine,  the  death-dealing  ingredi- 
ent of  the  hemlock  which  Socrates 
and  others  have  used  to  commit 
suicide.  Four  ten-thousandths  of  an 
ounce  of  nicotine  is  a  lethal  dose, 
yet  the  average  cigarette  contains 
more   than  ten   times  this  amount. 

3Porter.  C.  W.,  The  Carbon  Compounds,  Ginn  and 
Co.,  page  320,   (1931). 


Ctudies  made  by  Bush*  and  others 
have  shown  that  the  tobacco  user 
does,  however,  receive  enough  nico- 
tine to  upset  normal  bodily  func- 
tions, causing  an  increase  in  the  rate 
of  heart  action,  an  increase  in  blood 
pressure,  and  considerable  decrease 
in  mental  efficiency.  The  effect  of 
the  poison  is  slow,  due  to  the  rela- 
tively small  amount  that  is  actually 
effective,  and  in  many  respects  ren- 
dered more  cruel  than  the  quick  ac- 
tion of  a  large  dose.  The  result  is 
often  a  noticeable  destruction  of 
health,  coupled  with  financial  and 
moral  ruin.  Acute  poisoning  from 
nicotine  causes  vomiting,  mental 
confusion,  and  convulsions.  This 
indicates  on  a  large  scale  the  effect 
of  the  minute  doses  that  each  cig- 
aret  administers. 

The  whole  evil  of  the  tobacco  hab- 
it is  not  due  to  nicotine  alone.  There 
are  many  ingredients  which  the 
chemist  has  not  been  able  to  dis- 
cover. Yet  the  use  of  tobacco 
does  create  a  habit.  Therefore, 
some  other  ingredient  remains 
to  be  discovered  which  will  ac- 
count for  this  habit-forming  prop- 
erty. There  is  strong  evidence  that 
this  ingredient  will  be  a  narcotic  be- 
longing to  the  class  of  substances 
known  as  alkaloids  and  will  resem- 
ble, in  many  respects,  such  other 
alkaloids  as  nicotine,  strychnine, 
morphine,  etc.  It  will  not  be  surpris- 
ing if  chemists  ultimately  isolate 
several  other  alkaloids  from  tobacco. 
Other  plants  yielding  alkaloids  are 
known  to  produce  as  many  as  twen- 
ty different  poisons  in  a  single  plant. 
The  pyridine  mentioned  as  an  in- 
gredient of  the  smoke  from  tobacco 
is  a  poisonous  alkaloid  character- 
ized by  a  very  disagreeable  odor.  It 
is  widely  used  at  the  present  time 
to  render  alcohol  intolerable  for  hu- 

*Bush,  Arthur  D.,  New  York  Medical  Journal, 
(1914)  page  159.  (Quoted  by  L.  D.  S.  Social  Ad- 
visory   Committee. ) 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,     JANUARY,     1941 


man  use,  and  it  is  responsible  for 
the  foul  odor  which  some  denatured 
alcohols  have.  Other  substances 
have  been  reported  as  constituents 
of  tobacco  smoke  by  various  inves- 
tigators.5 Among  these  substances 
are  carbon  monoxide,  prussic  acid, 
wood  alcohol,  arsenic,  and  ammon- 
ia. Scientific  studies  prove  that  to- 
bacco smoke  is  irritating,  and  a  great 
deal  of  effort  has  been  devoted  to 
searching  for  methods  of  treating 
the  tobacco  to  free  the  smoke  from 
its  irritating  ingredients.  This  prob- 
lem has  thus  far  defied  the  best 
chemical  knowledge  and  skill. 

Certain  manufacturers  have  re- 
cently made  much  of  certain  biolog- 
ical studies  that  indicated  that  cig- 
aret  smoking  raised  the  blood  sugar 
value.  Bailey  and  Petre6  point  out 
that  this  claim  has  been  refuted  by 
Dill,  Edwards,  and  Forbes,7  who 
have  shown  that  the  smoking  of  a 
cigaret  is  without  effect  on  the  blood 
sugar,  lactic  acid,  and  respiratory 
quotient. 

Chemistry  and  Alcohol 

Chemistry  has  provided  much 
evidence  to  condemn  the  inter- 
nal use  of  alcohol.  Wilder  D.  Ban- 
croft, "the  grand  old  man  of  phys- 
ical chemistry,"  and  one  of  the 
world's  great  chemists,  has  devel- 
oped a  theory  of  insanity  which 
seems  to  shed  an  interesting  light 
on  the  internal  effects  of  alcohol. 
This  theory  attributes  certain  forms 
of  mental  disease  to  a  maladjust- 
ment of  the  colloids  of  the  nervous 
system. 

It  is  known  that  the  brain  and 
nervous  system  contain  protein  par- 
ticles of  colloidal  size  and  nature. 
Further,  many  chemicals  are  cap- 
able of  upsetting  the  normal  state 
of  these  minute  particles.  When 
this  occurs,  mental  health  is  im- 
paired. Several  rather  common 
chemicals  are  known  to  affect  the 
mind.  Early  workers  in  plants  pro- 
ducing ethyl  gasoline  became  vio- 
lently insane  due  to  the  tetra-ethyl- 
lead  which  got  into  their  systems. 
The  effect  was  found  to  wear  off 
as  their  bodies  had  time  to  dispose 
of  the  poison.  Other  forms  of  men- 
tal disturbances  have  been  pro- 
duced with  thiocyanates.  Various 
mixtures  of  carbon  monoxide  with 
other  gases  have  produced  peculiar 
mental  effects.  The  nitrous  oxide 
used  by  the  dentist  to  render  his 
patient  insensible  to  pain  produces 

BBailey     and     Petre,     Ind.     Eng.     Chem.     29,     16, 
(January  1937). 

eIbid. 

7DilI,     Edwards,     and     Forbes,     Am.     J.     Physiol.. 
109,    118,    (1934). 


an  hysteria  as  the  patient  recovers 
consciousness.  The  peculiar  behav- 
ior of  patients  recovering  from  this 
gas  has  led  to  its  designation  as 
"laughing  gas."  Even  pure  oxygen 
under  fairly  high  pressure  will  pro- 
duce marked  effects  upon  mental  be- 
havior. Other  substances  have  been 
found  which  are  capable  of  restor- 
ing the  proteins  of  the  mind  to  their 
normal  condition,  and  many  cases 
of  insanity  have  been  cured  or  im- 


proved by  treatment  with  sodium 
amytal  or  sodium  rhodanate. 

Alcohol  is  another  substance 
which  produces  abnormal  mental 
behavior,  and,  therefore,  is  believed 
to  upset  the  colloids  of  the  brain 
and  nervous  system.  The  state  of 
being  intoxicated  is  the  state  of  be- 
ing rendered  mentally  unbalanced 
by  chemical  action.  As  the  alcohol 
is  eliminated,  the  subject  "sobers 
up"  because  the  colloids  are  restored 
to,  at  least  approximately,  their 
normal  condition. 

Repeated  applications  of  the  al- 
cohol does  definite  and  permanent 
damage  to  the  mental  equipment  of 
the  alcohol  addict,  probably  because 
the  colloids  of  the  brain  and  nerves 
are  not  restored  in  perfect  condition 
after  each  "drunk."  Each  "spree" 
leaves  its  scar  on  the  mental  furni- 
ture of  the  drunkard,  and  the  injury 
of  each  is  additive.  Consequently, 
cases  of  mental  unbalance  due  to 
the  use  of  alcohol  are  not  uncom- 
mon. All  grades  of  mental  injury 
from  this  cause  are  undoubtedly 
with  us,  though  we  are  seldom  in- 
clined to  admit  that  the  mental  pow- 
ers are  damaged  until  the  victim 
becomes  so  mentally  ill  that  commit- 
ment to  an  institution  is  necessary. 

As  yet,  the  medical  profession 
has  not  accepted  all  that  Bancroft 
has  had  to  say  regarding  his  theory 
of  insanity.  Bancroft's8  chemical 
treatment   of  the   insane  has  been 

sJaffe,  Bernard,  Outposts  of  Science,  Silver  Burdett, 
(1935).  Alexander,  Colloid  Chemistry.  D.  Van 
Nostrand  Co.  (1937),  pages  301,  437,  438. 


successful  in  many  cases.  It  is  not 
surprising  that  his  attempts  to  re- 
store normal  colloidal  conditions  in 
the  nervous  systems  of  his  patients 
have  failed  in  some  cases,  because 
certainly  all  mental  diseases  are  not 
colloidal,  or,  if  colloidal,  would  not 
necessarily  respond  to  sodium  amy- 
tal, sodium  rhodanate,  or  other 
chemicals  which  have  thus  far  been 
tried. 

Nevertheless,  Bancroft's  theory 
offers  a  very  plausible  explanation 
of  the  detrimental  effect  which  ethyl 
alcohol  is  known  to  have  on  the  hu- 
man nervous  system.  It  is  reported 
that  some  chemicals,  such  as  mix- 
tures of  gasoline  with  milk,  which 
seem  to  share  with  alcohol  the  power 
to  upset  man's  nervous  or  mental 
equilibrium,  are  also  capable  of  af- 
fecting the  colloidal  protein  disper- 
sions of  the  brain. 

Moreover,  alcohol  is  a  narcotic 
since  it  is  poisonous,  capable  of  pro- 
ducing a  craving  for  itself,  and  cap- 
able of  producing  a  mental  stupor. 

Science  has  produced  ample  evi- 
dence to  show  that  alcohol  is  decid- 
edly detrimental  to  the  human  body. 
Numerous  studies  have  been  cited 
by  Oakes0  which  show  that,  since 
the  first  scientific  study  of  the  physi- 
ological effect  of  alcohol  made  in 
1907,  a  host  of  medical  and  social 
data  are  now  available  which  tes- 
tify that  alcohol  is  "recognized  as 
a  destroyer  of  health  in  both  mind 
and  body,  and  a  poison  which  will 
swiftly  undo  all  effects  of  training 
and  culture." 

"Hot  Drinks" 

HThe  present-day  tendency  to  hurry 
justifies  our  admonition  to  ab- 
stain from  "hot  drinks."  Thousands 
gulp  down  their  tea,  coffee,  cocoa, 
when  it  is  painfully  hot  in  order  to 
catch  their  car,  get  to  work  on  time, 
or  what  not.  This  is  conducive  to 
burns  on  the  lips  and  oral  tissues 
that  are  dangerous  and  attributed 
by  some  doctors  to  be  the  cause  of 
cancer  of  the  mouth. 

We  now  know  that  many  of  these 
widely  used  beverages  contain 
chemicals  that  are  dangerous  to  hu- 
man health.  Coffee  contains  caffeine 
in  amounts  ranging  from  0.5%  to 
1.5%.  Tea  contains  caffeine  in 
somewhat  larger  amounts.  Cocoa 
and  chocolate  contain  a  similar  sub- 
stance known  as  theobromine.  Oth- 
er injurious  chemicals  are  also  pres- 
ent in  the  hot  drinks  tabooed  by  the 
Word  of  Wisdom.  Among  them 
tannic  acid,  theophylline,  and  ade- 
(Concluded  on  page  53) 


9Oakes,   "Science   and  the  Word  of  Wisdom.' 


27 


JhjL  "BEFORE  AND  AFTER 


// 


<&  CHURCH-WIDE 
BEAUTIFICATION 


(^ache  Stake  has  been  doing  a  good  deal  in  the  beautifica- 

TION  PROGRAM.     We  REPRODUCE  HERE  A  FEW  PHOTOGRAPHS 

secured  from  Cache  people  showing  "before"  and  "after" 

CONTRASTS.      We  HOPE  THEY  WILL  GIVE  ENCOURAGEMENT  AND 

renewed  incentive  to  the  beautification  cause  through- 
out all  our  communities. 

The  photograph  designated  "b"  is  before  and  "a"  after 
in  each  group. 


A  PRAYER  FOR  PEACE 

By  Lizzie  O.  Borgeson  White 

Let  peace  be  ushered  in,   oh,  Lord,   the 
whole  world  round; 

May  strife  and  conflict  be  subdued,  and  love 
abound. 

Men's  lives  are  precious  in  Thy  sight —  You 

love  us  all — 
Bring   speedy  peace  upon   the   earth,   and 

Satan's  fall. 

Turn  men  from  wicked,  selfish  deeds,   to 
works  of  love; 

May  nations  turn  their  thoughts  to  Thee, 
good  Lord  above. 

Prepare  them  to  receive  and  serve  a  Heav- 
enly King — 

Send  Christ  on  earth  to  reign,  dear  Lord — 
let  freedom  ring. 


THIS  SNOW 

By  Christie  Lund  Coles 

'"P'here  is  peace  in  this  snow, 
■*■    Peace   and  new   hope   for    a   ravaged 

earth; 
So  silently  it  falls,  one  would  not  know 
The  hour  or  moment  of  its  prayer-like  birth. 

There  is  hope  in  this  hour: 

The  apple  orchard  and  the  golden  glow 

Of  wheat    fields    shall    be    testament   and 

flower 
Of  the  healing  and  the  strength  within  this 

snow. 


WINTER'S  KING 
By  Lila  M.  Bennett 

TJTail,  King  Winter,  sage  and  hoary! 

How  I  love  your  sombre  glory! 
You  are  ruthless,  strong,  and  raging 
When  a  blizzard  you  are  staging. 
Ah!  your  breath  is  keen  and  stinging, 
And  your  voice  a  bitter  ringing. 
Frosty  eyebrows,  frosty  beard, 
And  your  tongue  seems  piercing — speared. 
Your  laughter  is  both  sharp  and  mocking, 
And  your  strength  is  really  shocking. 


But  at  times  you  change  your  manner, 
And  are  mild,  and  hang  a  banner 
Of  sparkling  white,  and  blessed  peace 
As  you  don  a  robe  of  fleece. 
But  I  love  you,  wild  or  mellow, 
Dear  old  crusty,  blustering  fellow  ! 


THEY'RE  NICE  ABOUT  IT 
By  Lucretia  Penny 

I  like  giraffes,  I  think  they're  fine: 
It  has  not  turned  their  heads 
To  know  they  can  look  down  upon 
All  other  quadrupeds! 


RAINBOW   DAYS 
By  Luacine  Fox 

Days  are  colors — 
Each  irrevocably  tinged  with  the  flame 

Of  its  own  individuality; 

And   against   the   sweeping   pattern   of   its 
contour — 

Shadows  move — 

And  milky  films  of  memory 

Slip  by. 

Some  days  are  limpid — 

Cool,  serene. 

And     others,     baking     hot    with    thirsting 
anguish, 

With  zig-zag  flashings  of  rich-green  emo- 
tion— 

Needle  darts  of  pain,  surprise. 

And  then, 

Sometimes, 

The  deep  expansive  comfort  of  warm  rose — 

Of  satisfaction. 

But  once,  in  every  life, 

There  comes 

One  pure,  clear  day  of  white, 

High  and  clear 

And  shining — 

And  that, 

When  night  creeps  in, 

Then  deepens  to  a  cool,  rich  blue 

With  silver  stars. 


■  ■..■ .    .,-,'. 


SNOWFALL  AT  DUSK 
By   Helen  McMahan 

The  whole  world  is  calm 
While  the  fluffy  white  flakes 
Come  down  as  though  each 
Knew  its  place 
Because  of  a  previous 
Rehearsal  arranged 
For  this  ritual  of  beauty 
And  grace. 

They  pirouette  earthward 
In  billowy  flight, 
Like  down,  from  the  breast 
Of  a  swan; 

They  swarm,  and  they  dance 
In  the  cold  winter  night — 
Frail  ghosts  of  the  leaves 
That  are  gone. 


VOLCANO  ABOVE  THE  PLAIN 
By  Harry  Elmore  Hard 

TT  7e,  the  people,  live  in  Martinique, 

Which  is  the  world,  while  war,  which 
is  the  peak 
Of  Mount  Pelee,  grown  green  with  sugar- 
cane, 

Thrusts   terribly   upward    from   the  fertile 
plain 

Of  brotherhood  where  self-appointed  seers 

Cry  peace,  until  our  half-forgotten  fears 

Grow  lush  with  promise  like  quiescent  slopes 

Of  danger.    Man,  a  victim  of  his  hopes, 

Erects  his  dreams  about  the  base  of  wrath 

And  builds  his  towering  temples  in  the  path 

Of  former  lava,  in  which  to  chant  "Good- 
will 

On  earth"  until  new  terror  comes  to  chill 

His  heart  to  panic.     "This  horror  cannot 
be!" 

The  people  shout — but  still  the  poison  sea 

Avalanches  downward,  choking  breath 

With  cindered  fumes  of  phosphoric  death, 

While  in  the  sky  the  mushroom  of  their 
trust, 

Contracting,  showers  incandescent  dust 

Upon  the  surface  of  a  molten  mass 

Of  crawling,  cooling,  cracking  lava-glass. 


THE  COAT  I'M  GOING  TO  WEAR 
By  Alex  Faddis 

I'm  weaving  a  coat  to  wear  some  day, 
And  I'm  weaving  it  out  of  thought. 
The  pattern  my  parents  gave  to  me — - 
The  kind  that  is  never  bought. 

I'm  taking  many  a  loving  thought, 

With  golden  deeds  to  spare. 
I'm    running    them    through    the    spinning 
wheel 

In  weaving  my  coat  to  wear. 

I'll  take  some  courage,  a  great  deal  of  love 

With  confidence  and  cheer; 
I'll  weave  them  into  the  coat  some  place 

But  I'll  cast  away  all  fear. 

I'll  persevere  in  faith  and  works 
With  an  obedience  that's  rare, 

And   I'll  weave   them  into  the  warp  and 
woof 
Of  the  coat  I'm  going  to  wear. 

Then  I'll  line  the  coat  with  many  smiles 
And  with  friendly  deeds  galore, 

And  stitch  the  seams  with  sunny  beams 
That  will  last  forever  more. 

And  now,  dear  friends,  I  pray  you, 

Just  listen  to  what  I  say — 
When  I  come  to  the  end  of  this  mortal  road 

This  coat  I  will  put  away. 

Then  some  day  in  the  future  near 

This  coat  I'll  again  put  on. 
It  will  be  clean  and  sweet  and  a  perfect 
fit 

On  the  Resurrection  Morn! 


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oves 


Las  Vegas  Bishop 
Called  To  Senate  Post 

"Dishop  Berkeley  L.  Bunker  of  the 
*"'  Las  Vegas  Ward,  son  of  pioneer 
parents,  has  been  appointed  U.  S.  sen- 
ator from  Nevada  to  succeed  the  late 
Key  Pittman,  chairman  of  the  Senate 
Foreign  Relations  Committee.  Bishop 
Bunker,  just  thirty-four,  filled  a  mission 
to  the  Southern  States  from  1930  to 
1 932  and  has  been  continually  active  in 
Church  work.  In  1933  he  was  married 
to  Lucile  Whitehead  of  Las  Vegas. 
They  have  a  daughter,  Loretta,  three 
years  old. 

At  thirty  years  of  age,  Senator  Bun- 
ker was  elected  to  the  Nevada  State 
Assembly.  Elected  for  a  second  term, 
in  1939,  he  was  made  speaker  of  the 
lower  house. 

Senator  Bunker  is  ninth  child  in  a 
family  of  ten,  the  son  of  Martin  A.  and 
the  late  Helen  E.  Bunker.  His  grand- 
father, Edward  Bunker,  intrepid  Utah 
pioneer,  founded  Bunkerville,  Nevada. 

Division  Creates  New 
Ward  in  Cottonwood 

"Decent  division  of  the  Mill  Creek 
■^  Ward,  Cottonwood  Stake,  into 
east  and  west  sections  added  another 
member  to  the  steadily  increasing  num- 
ber of  wards  in  the  Church. 

William  W.  Liddle  was  named  bish- 
op of  the  eastern  division,  which  will 
retain  the  old  ward  name.  Appointed 
to  serve  as  counselors  were  Wendell 
L.  Cottrell  and  Melvin  J.  Burt,  with 
Gotfred  Stein  as  ward  clerk. 

Cyrus  S.  Walters  was  set  apart  as 
bishop  of  the  western  division,  to  be 
known  as  Valley  Center.  Leonard 
Croxford,  David  H.  Newman,  and  Al- 
ma Little  have  been  named  respective- 
ly as  first  and  second  counselors  and 
as  ward  clerk. 

New  Presidency  Formed 
in  Parowan  Stake 

avid  L.  Sargent,  professor  of  biol- 
ogy and  agriculture  and  chairman 
of  the  agriculture  division  at  the 
Branch  Agricultural  College  in  Cedar 
City,  was  sustained  in  November  as 
president  of  the  Parowan  Stake,  suc- 
ceeding William  R.  Palmer,  for  whom 
the  change  marked  completion  of 
twenty  years'  service  as  a  member  of 
the  Parowan  Stake  presidency,  fifteen 
of  them  as  president. 

Under  the  direction  of  Elders  Joseph 
F.  Merrill  of  the  Council  of  the  Twelve 
and  Antoine  R.  Ivins  of  the  First  Coun- 
cil of  Seventy,  counselors  W.  Arthur 
Jones  and  L.  E.  Tueller  were  also  re- 

30 


D 


leased  and  Elder  Jones  reappointed  as 
first  and  Oscar  J.  Hulet  named  as  sec- 
ond counselor  to  President  Sargent. 
Edward  A.  Parry  was  retained  as  stake 
clerk. 


Frank  Evans  Assumes 
Church  Finance  Position 

Crank  Evans,  prominent  Utah  at- 
torney  and  president  of  the  Eastern 
States  Mission  from  1937  to  1940,  has 
been  appointed  secretary  for  finance  to 
the  First  Presidency.  He  assumes  the 
duties  performed  by  the  late  Arthur 
Winter  in  connection  with  all  financial 
matters  of  the  Church. 

Elder  Evans  brings  to  his  new  posi- 
tion a  great  deal  of  valuable  experience. 
He  has  taught  school  and  was  at  one 
time  superintendent  of  Summit  County 
schools.  Later  he  studied  law  and  at- 
tended the  University  of  Chicago. 
From  1915  to  1917,  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Utah  state  senate.  He  saw  service 
with  the  Red  Cross  both  in  the  United 
States  and  France  during  the  World 
War. 

A  specialist  in  the  field  of  cooperative 
marketing,  he  has  been  secretary  and 
general  counsel  of  the  American  Farm 
Bureau  Federation,  with  headquarters 
in  Chicago,  and  under  Herbert 
Hoover's  administration  was  appointed 
a  member  of  the  Federal  Farm  Board, 
serving  in  Washington,  D.  C,  for  nearly 
two  years.  Elder  Evans  is  senior  au- 
thor of  a  legal  text  on  cooperative 
marketing,  titled  The  Law  of  AgricuU 
tutal  Cooperative  Marketing,  which  is 
used  in  colleges  and  by  attorneys  spe- 
cializing in  that  field. 


FRANK    EVANS 


New  Warehouse  Planned 
For  Welfare  Region 

X)lans  are  being  formulated  for  con- 
struction of  a  new  regional  ware- 
house for  the  north  Utah  region  in  the 
Church  Welfare  Program.  The  ware- 
house will  rise  on  property  adjacent  to 
the  present  four-stake  bishops'  store- 
house at  2030  Washington  Boulevard 
in  Ogden.  The  new  building  is  ex- 
pected to  be  ready  for  use  this  summer. 

Churchwomen  Attend 
Centennial  Congress 

Attending  the  Women's  Centennial 
■^  Congress,  which  was  held  at  the 
Waldorf-Astoria  in  New  York  City 
beginning  November  25,  were  President 
Amy  Brown  Lyman  of  the  National 
Woman's  Relief  Society  and  Lucy 
Grant  Cannon,  President  of  the  Young 
Women's  Mutual  Improvement  Asso- 
ciation. Representatives  from  every 
state  and  from  many  foreign  lands  were 
present  at  the  meet,  at  which  were  re- 
viewed the  accomplishments  of  women 
since  the  beginning  of  their  emancipa- 
tion a  hundred  years  ago  and  at  which 
were  laid  plans  to  remove  further  dis- 
criminations. 

Architects  Visit  Los 
Angeles  Temple  Site 

/"Commissioned  to  make  preliminary 
^  studies  at  the  site  of  the  temple  to 
be  built  on  the  Santa  Monica  Boule- 
vard in  Los  Angeles,  Lorenzo  S.  Young, 
Ramm  Hansen,  Georgius  Y.  Cannon, 
and  John  Fetzer,  members  of  the  board 
of  temple  architects,  recently  com- 
pleted a  series  of  test  bores  to  deter- 
mine the  character  of  subsoil,  investi- 
gated earthquake  potentialities,  and 
planned  landscaping  and  architectural 
features  for  the  temple  and  its  sur- 
roundings. 

Democracy  Becomes  Study 
Topic  in  Church  Schools 

A  special  course  on  "the  spiritual 
^*  basis  of  democracy"  will  be  spon- 
sored by  the  Church  Department  of 
Education  along  with  its  regular  week- 
day program  of  religious  education. 
Purpose  of  the  course  is  to  lead  students 
to  an  appreciation  of  the  rights  and 
privileges  enjoyed  under  the  American 
form  of  government  and  to  promote  in 
the  students  an  attitude  of  loyalty,  ser- 
vice, and  hard  work  for  its  defense. 

Three  pamphlets — "Your  Rights  Un- 
der the  Constitution,"  "The  United 
States  Flag,"  and  "Mormon  Youth  and 
Our  Government"— are  being  sent  to 
twenty    thousand     students     of     high 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,     JANUARY,     1941 


school  age  in  the  seminaries  of  five 
western  states  and  five  thousand  col- 
lege students  enrolled  in  institutes  and 
colleges  maintained  by  the  Church. 

L.  D.  S.  Hospitals 
Make  Improvements 

"Demodeling  and  renovating  of  the 
Church-owned  Dee  Hospital  in 
Ogden  has  included  enlargement  and 
improvement  of  kitchens,  dining-rooms, 
and  staff  quarters,  installation  of  a  new 
ice  plant,  and  renovation  of  the  receiv- 
ing department.  Rooms  on  the  east  side 
lower  floor  of  the  building  have  been 
dropped  to  floor  level. 

At  the  Groves  L.  D.  S.  Hospital  in 
Salt  Lake  City,  $50,000  was  spent  for 
improvements  during  1940,  including 
chiefly  modernization  of  the  kitchen. 
Plans  as  approved  at  the  annual  meet- 
ing of  the  hospital  board  call  for  en- 
larging the  X-ray  department  and  for 
remodeling  in  several  divisions. 

Ward  Makes  Bricks  As 
Major  Welfare  Project 

■\17hat  began  as  a  ward  project  to 
v"  make  bricks  for  an  addition  to 
the  Blanding  chapel  has  now  become  a 
major  Welfare  undertaking,  according 
to  Bishop  John  D.  Rogers.  Bricks 
formerly  shipped  325  miles  from  Salt 
Lake  to  Blanding  now  are  being  "home- 
made" and  sold  to  the  community. 
From  eighty  to  one  hundred  thousand 
bricks  have  already  been  burned  ready 
for  use.  Actually  twice  that  number 
have  been  made,  but  heavy  rains 
washed  them  away  before  they  reached 
the  kilns  for  burning. 

Brick-making  is  considered  by  the 
Blanding  people  an  ideal  Welfare  Plan 
activity  because  it  requires  little  skill 
and  not  more  physical  effort  than  can 
be  exerted  by  old  men  or  young  boys, 
or  persons  physically  handicapped. 

Missionaries  Return  From 
South  Africa,  Tahiti 

"Decalled  in  accordance  with  the  re- 
^  cently  announced  decision  of  the 
First  Presidency  to  confine  missionary 
labors  to  the  Americas  and  the  Ha- 
waiian Islands,  thirty-three  Elders 
from  the  South  African  Mission  arrived 
in  Jersey  City,  New  Jersey,  December 

I,  aboard  the  President  Polk,  second 
group  to  arrive  from  the -Pacific  area: 
missionaries  from  Australia,  New  Zea- 
land, Samoa,  and  Tonga  reached  San 
Francisco  early  in  November. 

On  December  9,  three  additional 
Elders  from  Samoa  and  one  from 
Australia  arrived  in  San  Francisco 
aboard  the  Monterey,  and  on  December 

II,  the  entire  contingent  of  missionaries 
from  Tahiti,  accompanied  by  President 
and  Sister  Eugene  M.  Cannon,  arrived 
at  the  coast  port  on  the  5.  5.  Lurline. 
Facing  the  prospect  of  a  six  months' 
delay  before  they  could  book  passage 
on  the  few  steamers  now  calling  at  Ta- 
hiti, Elders  there  chartered  a  hundred- 
foot  motored  trading  schooner  for  the 
fifteen-day  journey  to  Hawaii,  where 
they  boarded  the  Lurline. 


MISSIONARIES  LEAVING    FOR  THE  FIELD   FROM   THE  SALT  LAKE   MISSIONARY   HOME 
ARRIVED    NOVEMBER   IS— DEPARTED    NOVEMBER  28 

Reading  from  left  to  right,  first  row:  Dean  Fowley,  Eldon  LaVar  Coates,  Don  B.  Colton,  Mary  Duke, 
Maudie  Robinson,  Gladys  Stoker,  Beth  Markham,  Doyle  Richards,  Eldren  Butler,  Jerome  R.  Johnson. 

Second  row:  Robert  H.  Graham,  Leon  B.  Black,  Grant  L.  Judd,  Betty  Ann  McKenzie,  Hazel  Andersen, 
Norma  Hansen,  Dorothy  Anderson,  Claire  Van  Dam,  Vern  Ringwood,  Lynn  Smith. 

Third  row:  Rex  K.  Crane,  Blake  J.  Anderson,  Richard  B.  Stephen,  Avard  W.  Booth,  Max  Milligan,  Alta 
Valberg,    Odessa   Ford,    Ernest    Max    Engeman,    Rodney    Alsop,    Wm.    E.    Berrett,    instructor. 

Fourth  row:  Wayne  Bellows,  John  Jacob  Van  Leeuwen,  Bernell  Hales,  Jr.,  Sylvester  Hart,  Florence 
Tucker,  Evert  Gale  Martin,  Ralph  Clavin  Memmott,  Richard  Melvin  Mecham,  Ernest  Cook,  Thomas  Donald 
Hunsaker. 

Fifth  row:  R.  W.  Christensen,  Melvin  L.  Smith,  Stanley  L.  Udall,  Frank  W.  Jackson,  Alice  Briggs,  Lynn 
Nelson,  Cleveland  Cook,  Adrain  Neilson,  Emory  Neal  Benson,  Newell  Bastian. 

Sixth  row:  Arthur  Campbell,  Max  J.  Fenn,  James  T.  Crowther,  Lewis  T.  Patterson,  Roland  N.  Wille, 
Clyde  D.  Tidwell,   Robert  T.    Macdonald,   Eldred  Johnson,   Paul   Merrill,  Jr.,   Robert  Walter  Anderson. 

Seventh  row:  Afton  Ploock,  Howard  Smith,  Merrill  Bushnell,  Charles  Esplin,  LaMar  Sayer,  Keith  Merrill, 
Dean  T.  Kunz,  Gaylord  Whitney,  Lyle  Bunker,  Ronald  Hutchison. 

Eighth  row:  Leon  Judd,  Jack  Lyon,  Kenneth  Baugh,  Merlon  C.  Christensen,  Harland  S.  Russon,  Rufus  B. 
Astin,  Milton  D.  Rogers,  Gordon  W.  Mitchell,  Fred  W.  Hunzeker,  Raymond  W.  Fritsch. 

Ninth  row:  Claud  Haws,  Harvey  Hansen,  Calvin  P.  Christensen,  Wells  Meeks,  Ray  H.  Moore,  R.  Kent 
Fielding,  Norman  E.  Hansen,  George  VeH  Henrie,  Abel  John  Peterson,  John  Armstrong  Ellison. 

Tenth  row:  Burton  Bushman,  Philip  A.  Smith,  Ovid  L.  Farnsworth,  Clive  Bradford,  Loyd  M.  Sleight, 
R.  Sears  Hintze,  Elliot  Howe,  Richard  L.  Gunn,  J.  Emerson    Hallstrom. 

Eleventh  row:  Charles  Eugene  Busath,  Lee  Taylor  Jarvis,  John  A.  Neal,  Newell  Miller  Washburn,  Wayne 
M.  Winegar,  Wendell  Blackburn  Cheney,  Henry  M.  Schumann,  Herman  W.  Jepsen,  Derrah  Bybee  Wiggill, 
Eldredge  R.  Shakespear,  Eldon  Wesley  Hughes. 


MISSIONARIES  LEAVING    FOR  THE  FIELD   FROM   THE  SALT  LAKE   MISSIONARY   HOME 
ARRIVED    DECEMBER    2— DEPARTED    DECEMBER    12 

First  row:  James  Clair  Kendall,  Alma  J.  Duersch,  Norma  Holley,  Lenore  McKinney,  Don  B.  Colton, 
Ruth  M.  Hill,  Afton  Wilkins,  Clarence  Guy  Walder,  De  Var  Haws. 

Second  row:  Miland  G.  Draper,  Lester  W.  Martin,  Alvin  W.  Taylor,  Wilma  Burton,  Ada  Whetten, 
Rowene  Robinson,  Thora  Pearce,  Shirley  Hoyt,  Wayne  Charles  Dalton,  William  C.  Holmes. 

Third  row:  James  C.  Hansen,  James  V.  Terry,  Frank  S.  Hardy,  Orville  P.  Allen,  C.  Lowell  Mecham, 
Lova  Tolman,  Spencer  Glen  Beck,  Richard  Woodrow  Tracy,  Audun  Rudie  Shobaken. 

Fourth  row:  Walter  Merle  Anglesey,  Dean  Chancy  Garner,  Wendell  T.  Belnap,  Dale  Walters,  Elizabeth 
Welker,  Lewis  Bassett,  Shin-ell  Jensen,  Grant  Williams,  Dee  M.  Harris,  Verl  F.  Scott. 

Fifth  row:  Alvin  L.  Davidson,  Jos.  A.  Bailey,  Hugh  Crae  Wilson,  Richard  Bigelow  Grant  W.  Hodson, 
Melvin   P.    Leavitt,   William  J.   Jackson,   Allen   C.   Williams,    Lawrence  Angerbauer,   Wm.   E    Berrett. 

Sixth  row:  Albert  L.  Egbert,  Jr.,  Verl  W.  Simpson,  Louis  B.  Bouddren,  Arnold  P.  Maughan,  Lora  Lee 
Huff,  Maxwell  G.  Erskine,  Wallace  R.  Elkins,  Douglas  Farrow,  David  J.  Wells,  John  R.  Groberg. 

Seventh  row:  Robert  J.  Cox,  Russell  McDonald,  Franklin  V.  Nebeker,  Garth  L.  Gehring,  Ashton  L. 
Smith,  George  A.  Hansen,  Leonard  Haws  Johnson,  Grant  C.  Frederickson,  Easton  Sampson. 

Eighth  row:  Dean  Muir,  Philip  A.  Smith,  Leath  Cluff,  Lorenzo  Y.  Crossley,  Raymond  R.  Finlinson, 
Carl  Mecham,  Quentin  M.  West,  Milton  Alvin  Romney,  Elwood  F.  Stewart,  Ray  Summers. 

Ninth  row:  Reynold  W.  Bareman,  Finley  Reid  Hendrix,  Varsel  L.  Chlarson,  Lonnie  E.  Crosby,  Wm. 
Ernest  Bradshaw,  Lloyd  E.   Dahl,  Nephi  George,  E.  Grant   Moody,  June  Bringhurst. 

Tenth  row:  Lawrence  Roe,  Melvin  Sanders,  DeLance  Squire,  Le  Roy  E.  Peterson,  Sterling  J.  Durrant, 
A.  Glenn  Snarr,   Gerry  Alley,   Norman   Fletcher,  Mac  Bluth. 

Eleventh  row:  Richard  I.  Jorgensen,  Norman  M.  Adams,  W.  Clem  Utley,  D.  Platte  Woodland,  Herman 
Green,  Jr.,   Norman  McKee,  Sherman  Smith. 


Names   of   Elders   involved   in  the 
current  transfers  follow: 


From  the  South  African  Mission 

Released:  Harold  E.  Larsen,  Richfield, 
Utah;  Quentin  E.  Crockett,  Preston,  Idaho; 
J.  Keith  Hansen,  Bear  River,  Utah;  King 
S.  Udall  and  Phil  C.  Dana,  Phoenix,  Ari- 
zona; Max  W.  Simkins,  Springville,  Utah; 
Leslie  W.  Beer,  Centerville,  Utah;  Jay  S. 
Broadbent,  Provo,  Utah;  Robert  B.  Doug- 
las, Walter  M.  Lewis,  Donald  B.  Garrisk, 
Sidney  V.  Badger,  and  Gail  C.  Meier,  all 
of  Salt  Lake  City. 


Transferred  to  Central  States  Mission: 
Carlyle  B.  Eyre,  Cowley,  Wyoming;  Ter- 
rell R.  Woodmansee,  Rexburg,  Idaho. 

Transferred  to  Eastern  States:  Richard 
F.  Thorley  and  Jay  L.  Chatterley,  Cedar 
City,  Utah;  Scott  M.  Whitaker,  Los  An- 
geles; Harold  S.  Barnes,  Jr.,  Salt  Lake; 
William  W.  Heal,  Provo,  Utah;  Richard  A. 
Seare,  Salt  Lake. 

To  New  England  States:  Harold  M.  Ber- 
geson,  Cornish,  Utah;  Oscar  N.  Kirkham, 
John  N.  Eldredge,  and  Richard  G.  Sharp,  all 
of  Salt  Lake.         (Continued  on  page  34) 

31 


fcdti&riaL 


£A£OfUL 

A    time  of  year's  ending  and  year's  beginning 

comes  again  to  remind  us  of  many  things.   The 

settlement  it  brings  seems  somehow  to  be  a  foretaste 

of  that  inevitable  settlement  which  awaits  us  all — 

but  which  many  would  hope  to  escape. 

The  spirit  of  escape  seems  to  have  come  to  dwell 
among  us.  Perhaps  it  has  always  been  present,  but 
the  tenseness  of  our  times  makes  it  more  apparent. 
There  are  many  who  seem  to  want  to  escape  reality; 
to  postpone  the  day  of  settlement;  to  prefer  present 
pleasure  to  future  happiness;  to  escape  the  con- 
sequences of  their  own  mistakes;  to  escape  personal 
obligations;  to  escape  public  responsibility. 

There  are  some  who  seek  to  escape  by  borrowing 
rather  than  face  the  restrictions  of  a  sound  economy. 
There  are  some  who  would  rather  mortgage  the 
future  than  curtail  their  appetites.  There  are  some 
who  count  heavily  on  mercy  and  the  opportun- 
ities of  the  moment,  rather  than  on  justice  and 
the  certain  reckoning  of  the  future.  Some  have 
become  morally  and  materially  and  spiritually  in- 
solvent— bankrupt,  both  in  the  things  of  this  world 
and  in  those  things  which  pertain  to  that  which 
lies  beyond — and  rather  than  face  the  facts  and 
pay  the  price  and  begin  again  on  humble  but  sub- 
stantial foundations,  they  prefer  continuing  on  bor- 
rowed time,  always  with  the  shadow  of  inevitable 
consequences  hanging  over  them,  but  never  look- 
ing at  things  quite  squarely. 

No  doubt  there  would  be  less  of  the  spirit  of 
escape  if  we  could  bring  ourselves  to  the  realization 
that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  permanent  postpone- 
ment. Retribution  cannot  forever  be  out-distanced. 
The  judgments  of  men  may  be  slow — but  they  are 
sure,  and  even  more  so  are  the  judgments  of  God. 
No  one  was  ever  able  to  cheat  at  anything  perma- 
nently. No  one  has  even  been  able  to  postpone 
a  time  of  reckoning  forever — even  though  he  de- 
parted this  life  before  he  faced  the  facts.  For  it  is 
written:  "Verily  the  voice  of  the  Lord  is  unto  all 
men,  and  there  is  none  to  escape;  and  there  is  no 
eye  that  shall  not  see,  neither  ear  that  shall  not  hear, 
neither  heart  that  shall  not  be  penetrated.  And  the 
rebellious  shall  be  pierced  with  much  sorrow;  for 


their  iniquities  shall  be  spoken  upon  the  housetops, 
and  their  secret  acts  shall  be  revealed."  ( Doctrine 
and  Covenants  1 :2  and  3.) 

Since  there  is  no  way  of  permanent  escape  in  the 
lives  of  men  and  nations,  we  say  to  all:  Face  the 
issues  of  life  as  they  come;  pay  the  price,  whatever 
it  is;  spurn  the  postponement  of  obligations;  clean 
house;  make  peace  with  your  conscience,  and  build 
on  sound  foundations  for  that  future  wherein  no 
mistakes  have  yet  been  made.  For  all  who  do  this, 
the  onward  march  of  the  years  is  not  a  foreboding 
procession,  but  rather  a  sequence  of  events  that 
carries  its  lessons  and  its  blessings  into  the  present 
and  the  future,  and  leaves  its  debts  and  its  mistakes 
behind.—/?.  L.  £. 

JIua.  (DjCU^ 

"M[ew  Year's  Day  signifies  usually  a  need  to  make 
resolutions  for  better  living,  for  wiser  ex- 
penditure of  time  and  money,  for  kindlier  treatment 
of  family  and  friends.  However,  few  of  us  tend  to 
realize  that  each  day  is  part  of  a  new  year.  Each 
day  in  itself  partakes  of  the  nature  of  a  new  year 
when  we  arise  with  a  full  determination  to  make  it 
a  little  better  than  the  day  before.  It  is  only  when 
we  do  not  make  this  day  that  is  ours  a  bit  better 
than  the  day  before  that  we  fail  to  live  as  we  should. 

We  need  to  close  our  eyes  to  the  mistakes  of  yes- 
terday, to  the  sorrows,  to  the  dead  dreams.  We 
need,  however,  to  remember  the  unaccomplished 
ideals,  for  they  will  buoy  us  and  carry  us  into  the 
new  day  with  purposefulness.  We  need  not  con- 
sider the  troubles  that  tomorrow  may  bring.  In  the 
living  of  a  full  today,  doing  our  best,  trying  to  attain 
a  little  nearer  to  our  goal,  we  shall  grow  and  prepare 
for  that  tomorrow  with  its  unsolved  problems. 

As  we  consider  the  new  year,  therefore,  let  us 
resolve  that  this  day,  and  each  day  thereafter,  we 
shall  try  to  build  a  little  closer  to  our  dream  of  what 
we  wish  to  become.  We  shall  study  a  little  more; 
we  shall  be  better  neighbors;  we  shall  become 
truer  Latter-day  Saints.  In  fact,  this  day  is  our  day. 
It  is  our  opportunity  to  approach  nearer  to  that 
ideal  of  which  the  Christ  spoke  when  He  said,  "Be 
ye  therefore  perfect,  even  as  your  Father  in  heaven 
is  perfect." — M.  C.  J. 


32 


Evidences  and 
reconciliations 

xxxiiL.    What  i&.  Uul  Wsjamnq. 
i&  iPuL  JUIsl,  "(pJwphct,  S&jl?l, 
and,  dbw&lcdxfc'? 


HThe  President  of  the  Church  is  always  sustained 
by  the  people  as  "Prophet,  Seer,  and  Revelator, 
and  President  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Lat- 
ter-day Saints."  This  is  in  compliance  with  the 
revealed  word  of  God.  The  first  revelation  re- 
ceived by  Joseph  Smith  after  the  organization  of 
the  Church  on  April  6,  1830,  specifically  declares 
that  "there  shall  be  a  record  kept  among  you;  and 
in  it  thou  shalt  be  called  a  seer,  a  translator,  a 
prophet,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  an  elder  of  the 
church  through  the  will  of  God,  the  Father,  and 
the  grace  of  your  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  (Doc.  & 
JZav.  21 :1.) 

This  was  reiterated  by  revelation  in  1835:  "The 
President  of  the  office  of  the  High  Priesthood  is  to 
preside  over  the  whole  church,  .  .  .  yea,  to  be  a 
seer,  a  revelator,  a  translator,  and  a  prophet,  having 
all  the  gifts  of  God  which  he  bestows  upon  the  head 
of  the  church."  (Doc.  &  Cov.  107:91,  92);  and 
was  further  restated  in  1841 :  "I  give  unto  you  my 
servant  Joseph  to  be  a  presiding  elder  over  all  my 
church,  to  be  a  translator,  a  revelator,  a  seer,  and  a 
prophet."     (Doc.  and  Cov.  124:125.) 

In  current  practice,  the  word  "translator"  is 
omitted,  since,  through  revelation,  the  President  of 
the  Church  may  at  any  time  be  called  to  the  special 
labor  of  translation. 

The  counselors  to  the  President  and  the  Council 
of  the  Twelve  Apostles  and  the  Presiding  Patriarch 
are  also  sustained  as  "prophets,  seers,  and  reve- 
lators."  This  conforms  to  the  Priesthood  conferred 
upon  them,  and  to  their  official  calling  in  the  Church. 
That  others  than  the  president  may  hold  these  ex- 
alted titles  also  conforms  to  the  revealed  word  of 
God.  For  example,  speaking  of  Hyrum  Smith:  "I 
appoint  unto  him  that  he  may  be  a  prophet,  and  a 
seer,  and  a  revelator  unto  my  church."  (Doc.  and 
Cov.  124:94.) 

On  March  27,  1836,  at  the  dedication  of  the 
Kirtland  Temple  the  authorities  of  the  Church  were 
sustained:  "I  [Joseph  Smith]  made  a  short  ad- 
dress, and  called  upon  the  several  quorums,  and 
all  the  congregation  of  Saints,  to  acknowledge  the 
Presidency  as  Prophets  and  Seers  and  uphold  them 
by  their  prayers.  ...  I  then  called  upon  the  quo- 
rums and  congregation  of  Saints  to  acknowledge 
the  Twelve,  who  were  present,  as  Prophets,  Seers, 
Revelators,  and  special  witnesses  to  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  holding  the  keys  of  the  Kingdom,  to 
unlock  it,  or  cause  it  to  be  done,  among  them,  and 
uphold  them  by  their  prayers."  (History  of  the 
Church  2 :417.) 

When  others  besides  the  President  of  the  Church 


hold  the  title  "prophet,  seer,  and  revelator"  it  fol- 
lows that  the  "power  and  authority"  thus  repre- 
sented are  called  into  action  by  appointment  from 
the  President  of  the  Church,  otherwise  there  might 
be  a  conflict  of  authority.  This  is  well  illustrated 
in  the  practice  of  the  Church.  For  example,  a  man 
may  be  ordained  a  High  Priest,  an  office  in  which 
the  right  of  presidency  is  inherent,  but  he  presides 
only  when  called  to  do  so.  It  is  even  so  with  the 
exercise  of  authority  under  these  other  sacred  titles. 

The  three  separate  titles  in  the  general  titles  have 
much  the  same  meaning  in  popular  usage,  yet  there 
are  differences  sufficiently  important  to  justify  their 
use. 

A  prophet  is  a  teacher.  That  is  the  essential 
meaning  of  the  word.  He  teaches  the  body  of 
truth,  the  Gospel,  revealed  by  the  Lord  to  man; 
and  under  inspiration  explains  it  to  the  understand- 
ing of  the  people.  He  is  an  expounder  of  truth. 
Moreover,  he  shows  that  the  way  to  human  hap- 
piness is  through  obedience  to  God's  law.  He  calls 
to  repentance  those  who  wander  away  from  truth. 
He  becomes  a  warrior  for  the  consummation  of  the 
Lord's  purposes  with  respect  to  the  human  family. 
The  purpose  of  his  life  is  to  uphold  the  Lord's  plan 
of  salvation.  All  this  he  does  by  close  communion 
with  the  Lord,  until  he  is  "full  of  power,  even  the 
spirit  of  the  Lord."  (Micah  3:8;  see  also  Doc.  & 
Cov.  20:26;  34:10;  43:16.) 

The  teacher  must  learn  before  he  can  teach. 
Therefore,  in  ancient  and  modern  times  there  have 
been  schools  of  the  prophets,  in  which  the  mysteries 
of  the  Kingdom  have  been  taught  to  men  who  would 
go  out  to  teach  the  Gospel  and  to  fight  the  battles 
of  the  Lord.  These  "prophets"  need  not  be  called 
to  an  office;  they  go  out  as  teachers  of  truth,  always 
and  everywhere. 

In  the  course  of  time  the  word  "prophet"  has 
come  to  mean,  perhaps  chiefly,  a  man  who  receives 
revelations  and  directions  from  the  Lord.  The 
principal  business  of  such  a  prophet  has  mistakenly 
been  thought  to  foretell  coming  events,  to  utter 
prophecies,  which  is  only  one  of  the  several  pro- 
phetic functions. 

In  the  sense  that  a  prophet  is  a  man  who  receives 
revelations  from  the  Lord,  the  titles  "seer  and 
revelator"  merely  amplify  the  larger  and  inclusive 
meaning  of  the  title  "prophet."  Clearly,  however, 
there  is  much  wisdom  in  the  specific  statement  of 
the  functions  of  the  prophet  as  seer  and  revelator, 
as  is  done  in  the  conferences  of  the  Church. 

A  seer  is  one  who  sees  with  spiritual  eyes.  He 
perceives  the  meaning  of  that  which  seems  obscure 
to  others;  therefore  he  is  an  interpreter  and  clari- 
fier  of  eternal  truth.  He  foresees  the  future  from 
the  past  and  the  present.  This  he  does  by  the 
power  of  the  Lord  operating  through  him  directly, 
or  indirectly  with  the  aid  of  divine  instruments 
such  as  the  Urim  and  Thummim.  In  short,  he  is 
one  who  sees,  who  walks  in  the  Lord's  light  with 
open  eyes. 

A  revelator  makes  known,  with  the  Lord's  help, 
something  before  unknown.  It  may  be  new  or  for- 
gotten truth,  or  a  new  or  forgotten  application  of 
known  truth  to  man's  need.  Always,  the  revelator 
deals  with  truth,  certain  truth  ( Doc.  &  Cov.  1 00 : 1 1 ) 
and  always  it  comes  with  (Concluded  on  page  56) 


33 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,    JANUARY,    1941 


The  Church  Moves  On 

( Continued  from  page  3 1 ) 

To  Northern  States:  Grant  B.  Shaw, 
Ogden,  Utah;  Robert  Q.  Shupe,  Phoenix, 
Arizona;  Leland  W.  Redd,  LaSal,  Utah. 

To  Northwestern  States:  Norman  S. 
Howells,  Salt  Lake;  Francis  G.  Tate, 
Sandy,  Utah. 

To    Southern    States:    Newel   S.   Black, 
Kanosh,  Utah;  Preston  T.  Marchant,  Peoa, 
Utah;  John  C.  Knudsen,  Salt  Lake. 
From  the  Tahitian  Mission 

Released:  President  and  Mrs.  Eugene 
M.  Cannon,  Salt  Lake  City;  Melvin  D. 
Christensen,  Richfield,   Utah. 

To  California  Mission:  Delmar  Braeg- 
ger,  Providence,  Utah;  Norman  Price,  Salt 
Lake  City;  Howard  L.  Randall,  Ogden, 
Utah;  Ralph  J.  Richards,  Malad,  Idaho; 
Frank  D.  Sanford,  Springville,  Utah;  Ray- 
mond W.  Young,  Ririe,  Idaho. 

To  Texas  Mission:  Dean  W.  Haslem, 
Shelley,  Idaho;  Stanley  B.  Vance,  Sandy, 
Utah;  Eldon  A.  Peterson,  Lehi,  Utah;  L. 
Yale  Peterson,   Shelley,   Idaho. 

To  Hawaiian  Mission:  Ray  L.  Halverson, 
Salt  Lake  City. 
From  the  Samoan  Mission 

To  Northwestern  States:  John  W.  Butler, 
Eager,  Arizona;  Van  D.  Livingston,  Foun- 
tain Green,   Utah;   Burton  H.    Price,    Salt 
Lake  City. 
From  the  Australian  Mission 

Ralph  G.  Holton,  Ogden,  Utah,  released. 

Bishops,  Presiding 
Elders  Appointed 

Hillspring  Ward,  Alberta  Stake,  Glen 
Fisher  succeeds  Wallace  Hurd. 

St.  Charles  Ward,  Bear  Lake  Stake,  L. 
Burdette  Pugmire  succeeds  A.  Henry  Mon- 
son. 

Milford  Ward,  Beaver  Stake,  Laurence 
Peterson  succeeds  Alvin  H.  Baker. 

Byron  Ward,  Big  Horn  Stake,  Maurice 
Jensen  succeeds  Malcolm  F.  LeSueur. 

Pella  Ward,  Burley  Stake,  John  E.  Bowen 
succeeds  Ira  H.  Coltrin. 

Oasis  Ward,  Deseret  Stake,  Lars  Hansen 
succeeds   J.    Val    Styler. 

Twelfth  Ward,  Emigration  Stake,  Francis 

A.  Madsen  succeeds  Howard  H.  Hale. 
Hawthorne  Ward,  Granite  Stake,  Vern 

B.  Millard  succeeds  Frederick  E.  H.  Curtis. 
Lincoln  Ward,  Granite  Stake,  Charles  L. 

Snelgrove  succeeds  Willard  B.  Richards,  Jr. 

Lincoln  Ward,  Idaho  Falls  Stake,  Morgan 
Haroldson  succeeds  Hans  F.  Jensen. 

Torrance  Ward,  Inglewood  Stake,  Wil- 
ford  H.  Newland  succeeds  David  J.  Ros- 
siter. 

Pleasant  View  Ward,  Malad  Stake, 
Thomas  Thorpe  succeeds  Joseph  M.  Isaac- 
son. 

Ogden  Third  Ward,  North  Weber  Stake, 
Jesse  H.  Draper,  second  counselor,  tem- 
porarily appointed  to  succeed  Myron  B. 
Richardson,  deceased. 

West  Warren  Branch,  North  Weber 
Stake,  Ernest  W.  Cardon  succeeds  Thomas 
W.  Barrow. 

Redwood  Ward,   Pioneer  Stake,   Oliver 

C.  Pederson  appointed  to  succeed  Delbert 
H.  Giles,  former  president  of  Pioneer 
Branch. 

Richfield  Second  Ward,  Sevier  Stake, 
Wallace  H.  Sorenson  succeeds  LeGrand  C. 
Frank. 

Clover  Ward,  Tooele  Stake,  Merlin  M. 
Johnson  succeeds  John  W.  Green. 

Belvedere  Ward,  Wells  Stake,  Clarence 
E.  Schank  succeeds  Richard  A.  Brower. 

Benjamin  Ward,  Nebo  Stake,  Eugene 
Hansen  succeeds  Paul  E.  Ludlow. 

Lyman    Ward,    Rexburg    Stake,    Angus 

34 


Peterson  succeeds  N.  Leslie  Andrus. 

Rexburg  First  Ward,  Rexburg  Stake, 
Mariner  D.  Morrell  succeeds  Hugh  A. 
Wright. 

Edgehill  Ward,  Highland  Stake,  C.  H. 
Parker,  succeeds  George  L.  Nelson. 

Emerson  Ward,  Highland  Stake,  Lynn 
R.  Fairbanks  succeeds  David  G.  Emery. 

Taylorsville  Ward,  Cottonwood  Stake, 
Abram  Barker  succeeds  Joseph  S.  Bennion. 

Roll  Call  of  Missionaries 
Honorably  Released 

"pOLLOWiNG  are  names  of  missionaries 
■*"  who  in  October,  1940,  completed 
their  period  of  voluntary  service  to  the 
Church  in  various  mission  fields.  Also 
included  are  several  names  not  pre- 
viously reported  since  this  column  be- 
gan in  the  Eta. 

Argentine:  Oren  E.  Moffett,  Ogden, 
Utah. 

California:  Blanche  Cardon,  Logan, 
Utah;  Frank  C.  Coleman,  Spring  City, 
Utah;  Pearl  Dudley,  Vernal,  Utah;  Charles 

D.  Leavitt,  Leavitt,  Canada;  Lucy  Ann 
Vaughn,  Seattle,   Washington. 

Brazilian:  Grant  L.  Brooks,  St.  George, 
Utah;  Howard  W.  Robinson,  American 
Fork,  Utah. 

Canadian:  Afton  Christensen,  Raymond, 
Canada;  Ralph  T.  Howes,  Salt  Lake  City, 
Utah;  George  W.  Jenkins,  Murray,  Utah; 
August  C.  Lenz,  Glenwood,  Canada;  Del- 
mar  J.  Young,  Ogden,  Utah. 

Central  States:  Lloyd  A.  Hamilton,  Sugar 
City,  Idaho;  Helen  Hughes,  Boise,  Idaho; 
Grace  Olsen,  Salt  Lake;  Mae  Anna  Sor- 
ensen,  Salt  Lake. 

East  Central  States:  Reeves  Brady,  Ma- 
nassa,  Colorado;  Glenn  B.  Greenwood, 
American  Fork,  Utah. 

New  England:  Vera  Howard,  Woods 
Cross,  Utah;  Glenda  Richardson,  Mesa, 
Arizona;  Ruth  Orlee  Tanner,  Rigby,  Idaho. 

New  Zealand:  Milton  A.  Baumgartner, 
Salt  Lake. 

North  Central  States:  Hilmer  S.  Peterson, 
Roosevelt,  Utah;  Val  E.  Rigby,  Lewiston, 
Utah. 

Northern  States:  Samuel  F.  Curtis,  Sol- 
omonville,  Arizona;  Mrs.  Julia  S.  Hawkins, 
Long  Beach,  California;  Roe  Charles  Haw- 
kins, Long  Beach,  California;  John  D.  John- 
son, Preston,  Idaho;  Madeline  Staples,  Me- 
sa, Arizona;  Royal  V.  Wolters,  Salt  Lake. 

Spanish-American:  Edith  Ball,  Rigby, 
Idaho;  John  E.  Cummings,  Salt  Lake;  Jo- 
seph W.  Dudley,  Malad,  Idaho;  Sue  Car- 
men Jennings,  Lame  Deer,  Montana;  Har- 
old J.  Packer,  Safford,  Arizona;   Adrienne 

E.  Willis,  Grantsville,  Utah. 
Northwestern  States:     Ernest  L.  Allred, 

Lehi,  Utah;  Ira  G.  Belnap,  Blackfoot,  Idaho; 
Joseph  R.  Bills,  Payson,  Utah;  Rula  Blat- 
ter, Chinock,  Montana;  Grant  M.  Bowler, 
Logandale,  Nevada;  Margaret  Boyce,  Mis- 


soula,  Montana;  LaMont  H.  Briggs,  Fair- 
view,  Utah;  Virginia  Chatelain,  North 
Ogden,  Utah;  Clyde  C.  Child,  Salt  Lake; 
Kennedy  W.  Curtis,  Solomonville,  Arizona; 
Joseph  G.  Fairbanks,  Weiser,  Idaho;  Chris- 
tie L.  Hermansen,  Ely,  Nevada;  Richard 
S.  Hunt,  Hunt,  Arizona;  Juliet  Jensen,  Rex- 
burg, Idaho;  Thomas  M.  Jones,  Hooper, 
Utah;  Victor  F.  Larson,  Magrath,  Canada; 
Glen  T.  Nelson,  Smithfield,  Utah;  Nephi 
H.  Nielsen,  Monroe,  Utah;  Ross  D.  Niel- 
sen, Riverton,  Utah;  Lehi  B.  Palmer,  Mesa, 
Arizona;  Elva  June  Rasmussen,  Bear  River 
City,  Utah;  George  D.  Rees,  Morgan,  Utah; 
Mrs.  Fay  Brady  Slade,  Farmington,  New 
Mexico;  Victor  A.  Slade,  Farmington,  New 
Mexico;  Evelyn  C.  Sylvester,  Elsinore, 
Utah;  Howard  F.  Taylor,  Idaho  Falls, 
Idaho;  Melba  Thomson,  Salt  Lake;  Arthur 
W.  Van  Orden,  Lewiston,  Utah;  Raymond 
S.  Wright,  Jr.,  Ogden,  Utah. 

Southern  States:  Wayne  R.  Brown.  Ash- 
hurst,  Arizona;  Edith  Chadwick,  American 
Fork,  Utah;  Fred  H.  Duehlmeier,  Salt  Lake; 
Minnie  Farr,  Mesa,  Arizona;  Albert  S. 
Gowans,  Tooele,  Utah;  A.  Ross  Flake, 
Phoenix,  Arizona;  Joseph  M.  Griffiths, 
Bend,  Oregon;  Leo  G.  Hansen,  American 
Falls,  Idaho;  Harry  O.  Jones,  Lubbock, 
Texas,  Eva  Merkley,  Vernal,  Utah;  Calvin 
S.  Merrill,  Safford,  Arizona;  Howard  C. 
Tate,  Salt  Lake;  Glen  D.  Webb,  Tabiona, 
Utah. 

Texas:  Myron  R.  Brown,  Rexburg,  Ida- 
ho; Woodward  Evans,  Mt.  Emmons,  Utah; 
William  H.  Thayne,  Brigham  City,  Utah. 

Western  States:  Grant  W.  Cooley,  New- 
ton, Utah;  Barbara  Jean  Petty,  Nephi, 
Utah;  William  E.  Toone,  Claresholm, 
Canada. 

Hawaiian  Elders  Conduct 
County  Fair  Exhibit 

"POLLOWING  the  example  set  by  the 
Church  in  its  exhibits  in  the  San 
Francisco  and  New  York  fairs,  the 
Maui  District  of  the  Hawaiian  Mission 
held  an  exhibit  in  the  Maui  County 
Fair  in  October,  1940.  Although  the 
size  of  the  Maui  Fair  could  not  be  com- 
pared with  its  gigantic  relatives  on  the 
mainland,  still  much  good  was  accom- 
plished by  the  exhibit,  which  was  plan- 
ned, constructed,  and  conducted  by  the 
Maui  missionaries. 

Because  the  booth  was  located  in  the 
Junior  Division  of  the  Fair,  a  youth 
theme  was  carried  out.  Pictures  ex- 
plaining the  story  of  the  M.  I.  A.  pro- 
gram were  attractively  displayed.  Also 
decorating  the  walls  were  scenic  pic- 
tures of  Utah,  and  periodically  each 
day,  colored  slides  were  displayed  of 
Utah,  and  the  story  of  Mormonism  pre- 
sented by  the  Elders.  The  booth  was 
always  filled  with  interested  people. 

■ — Elder  D.  James  Cannon. 
■■I  {Continued  on  page  52) 

mm 


MISSION     EXHIBIT     AT     THE 
MAUI  COUNTY  FAIR,   HAWAII. 


sli 


HjtfBoofiHacK 


BURIED  EMPIRES  OF 
SOUTH  AMERICA 
(William  and  Dewey  Farnsworth, 
Farnsworth  Brothers,  P.  O.  Box  482, 
El  Paso,  Texas.    Also  at  Deseret  Book 
Company,  Salt  Lake  City,    $1.00.) 

'"P'his  is  probably  the  finest  available  col- 
J-  lection  of  dependable  pictures  of  South 
American  antiquities.  It  contains  a  suc- 
cession of  almost  unbelievable  pictures. 
There  is  a  great  wall  with  a  chain  of  forts 
running  over  valleys  and  mountains,  cities 
of  large  proportions,  gems  of  architecture 
and  sculpture,  stone  wheels  showing  the  use 
of  the  wheel  in  ancient  America,  excellent 
roadways,  beautiful  golden  ornaments,  and 
numerous  other  things  of  equal  interest. 
There  is  also  a  picture  of  the  recently  found 
tribe  of  white  Indians.  A  carefully  made, 
explanatory  text  accompanies  the  pictures. 
The  book  demonstrates  beyond  cavil  that 
a  highly  developed  civilization  existed  in 
ancient  America.  All  Latter-day  Saints, 
believers  in  the  Book  of  Mormon,  will  be 
interested  in'  this  volume,  and  intrigued  by 
it.  It  is  beautifully  printed  by  Stevens  and 
Wallis,  Inc.  This  collection  is  really  a 
continuation  of  the  book,  Grandeur  of  An- 
cient America,  by  the  same  authors,  which 
deals  with  the  antiquities  of  Mexico  and 
Central  America. 

We  congratulate  William  J.  and  Dewey 
Farnsworth  upon  the  production  of  these 
helpful  volumes,  and  hope  that  they  may 
soon  find  time  to  add  another  volume  dealing 
with  North  American  antiquities. — J.  A.  W. 

A  VISIT  TO  THE  HOLY  LAND 
(Dr.  Thomas  C.  Romney.    The  Chris- 
topher Publishing  House,  1940.) 

This  is  a  personally  conducted  tour 
through  some  of  the  most  interesting 
countries  of  the  world:  Syria,  Palestine, 
Egypt,  Turkey,  Greece,  and  Italy.  In  each 
country  the  most  notable  places  and  monu- 
ments are  described  and  interpreted.  The 
author  has  observing  eyes  and  passes  on 
that  which  he  sees  in  familiar  language  and 
easy  style,  often  with  eloquence  and  al- 
ways intimately,  until  the  reader  feels  as  if 
he,  also,  is  one  of  the  travelers. 

Since  Dr.  Romney  is  a  trained  historian, 
he  sets  forth,  in  addition,  the  historical  back- 
ground and  meaning  of  every  point  of  in- 
terest. This  makes  this  a  unique  travel  book 
and  doubles  its  value.  It  is  an  entertaining 
and  informative  book,  which  will  be  en- 
joyed by  all  who  are  interested  in  the  Holy 
Land  and  adjoining  countries.- — /.  A.  W. 

THE  JESSE  KNIGHT  FAMILY- 
JESSE  KNIGHT,  HIS  FOREBEARS 
AND  FAMILY 

(Jesse  William  Knight.     Deseret 
News  Press,  1940.) 

NOTABLE  men,  diversely  occupied,  but 
laboring  for  a  common  end,  have  built 
the  Latter-day  kingdom  of  the  Lord.  Jesse 
Knight  was  one  of  this  intelligent,  coura- 
geous, faithful  army  of  followers  of  the 
Prophet  Joseph  Smith. 

Newel  and  Lydia  Knight,  Jesse's  parents, 
of  ail-American  stock,  were  with  the  Church 
from  its  beginning,  helped  establish  it,  and 
shared  its  tribulations.  Newel  Knight,  on 
his  way  to  the  West,  laid  down  his  life,  a 
virtual  martyr  to  the  Latter-day  cause. 

Jesse  Knight  was  tutored  in  the  responsi- 
bilities of  a  widow's  son,  and  in  the  hard- 


ships of  pioneer  life.  Through  spiritual 
experiences  he  was  given  a  testimony  of 
the  truth  of  the  Gospel  which  ever  remained 
with  him  and  guided  his  actions.  He  turned 
his  attention  to  mining,  informed  himself 
about  mining  matters,  and  when  he  found 
"what  he  felt  was  an  excellent  piece  of 
mineral  ground"  he  set  to  work  to  develop 
it.  His  impression  proved  to  be  correct. 
Wealth  flowed  to  him  rapidly  and  in  large 
amounts. 

The  use  that  he  made  of  his  great  means 
shows  that  he  looked  upon  himself  only  as 
the  steward  of  the  wealth  showered  upon 
him.  Over  and  over  again,  sometimes  to 
his  own  loss,  he  undertook  ventures  for  the 
benefit  of  his  toiling  brethren  and  sisters. 
Not  only  mining,  but  farming,  ranching, 
home  manufacturing,  merchandizing,  bank- 
ing, and  many  other  ventures  were  fostered 
by  the  Knight  millions  to  the  permanent 
benefit  of  Utah,  other  states,  Canada,  and 
South  America.  Likewise,  he  dealt  gener- 
ously with  many  who  were  seeking  to  estab- 
lish themselves;  he  responded  to  the  call  of 
his  Church  for  aid;  and  gave  most  liberally 
to  the  cause  of  education  through  the  Brig- 
ham  Young  University.  In  all  this  he  was 
aided  wisely,  steadily,  and  faithfully  by  his 
devoted  wife,  Amanda  McEwen  Knight.  He 
became  recognized  as  a  man  in  whom  great- 
ness dwelt;  and  the  whole  state  spoke  of 
him  lovingly  as  "Uncle"  Jesse  Knight.  The 
simplicity,  generosity,  and  unwavering  de- 
votion to  the  cause  of  truth  of  this  distin- 
guished man  and  his  wife  were  certificates 
of  the  noble  nature  understood  and  esteemed 
by  all. 

This  fascinating  life  story,  with  its  many 
details  of  interest,  and  the  story  of  Jesse's 
wife,  have  been  well  told  in  this  book 
by  Jesse's  second  son,  Jesse  Willam  Knight. 
The  book  contains  also  biographical  sketches 
of  the  Knight  children.  It  is  a  fine,  filial 
tribute  to  a  splendid  life  and  a  valuable 
contribution  to  Western  history. — -/.  A.  W. 

HERITAGE  OF  THE  VALLEY 
(George  William  Beattie,  Helen  Pruitt 
Beattie.    San  Pasqual  Press,  1939. 
459  pages.     $5.00.) 

THIS  is  a  well-documented  history  of  the 
San  Bernardino  Valley,  that  chronicles 
one  of  the  colorful  movements  in  the  win- 
ning of  the  west  in  an  unbiased  manner  and 
with  a  moving  human  interest.  Thirteen 
chapters,  comprising  140  pages,  are  given 
over  to  a  discussion  of  what  the  authors 
call  "The  Mormon  Period"  which  is  of 
much  interest  to  members  of  the  Church 
and  to  all  students  of  the  subject,  and  which 
it  is  said  contains  some  heretofore  un- 
published materials.  Some  appraisers  of 
this  book  have  called  the  chapters  dealing 
with  the  Mormon  period  the  "high  spots" 
of  the  book.  The  authors,  well-qualified 
by  training  and  background  and  tempera- 
ment, for  the  task,  have  done  a  highly  com- 
mendable work  that  will  be  welcomed  by  all 
students  of  Church   and  Western  history. 

— R.  L.  E. 

OUR  COMMON  HERD 

(Sue  Sanders.     Barton  Syndicate, 

1940.     261  pages.     $1.00.) 

This  is  a  story  of  the  Southwest,  a 
woman,  and  oil  "wildcatting" — but  it's 
more  than  that — it's  the  story  of  struggle 
against  what  seemed  to  be  insurmountable 
obstacles,    the   story   of   people   and    what 


makes  them  and  what  breaks  them,  the  story 
of  Americanism  and  what  it  meant  before 
too  many  of  us  softened.  Our  Common 
Herd  is  fascinating  reading  and  strong  medi- 
cine for  our  generation.  Sue  Sanders  has 
done  well  with  her  life,  and  she  has  done 
well  with  this  book,  both  as  a  literary 
effort  and  as  a  sermon  that  is  easy  to 
take  and  hard  to  forget.  We  can  state 
that  we  were  entertained  and  challenged 
and  stimulated  by  the  reading  of  Our  Com- 
mon Herd  with  a  conviction  that  few  books 
have  called  forth  from  us  of  late,  and  we 
hope  many  others  will  share  our  experience. 

— R.  L.  E. 

MRS.  MINIVER 
(Jan  Struther.     Harcourt,  Brace  and 
Company,   New   York,    1940. 
288  pages.     $2.00) 

Mrs.  Miniver  is  one  of  the  most  delight- 
ful persons  to  step  from  the  pages  of 
a  book  in  recent  years.  And  the  reason 
for  her  deserved  popularity  is  that  she  is 
so  much  like  other  women  the  world  over. 
She  goes  to  the  dentist,  does  Christmas 
shopping,  entertains,  just  as  any  normal 
person  does,  but  she  has  (probably  we 
should  say,  the  author)  such  a  verve  for 
expressing  how  she  does  all  these  things 
that  to  meet  her  is  to  love  her. 

Her  three  children  should  also  be  men- 
tioned, for  they  are  the  kind  that  make  the 
reader  fall  in  love  with  their  own  children 
all  over  again— to  say  nothing  of  the  hus- 
band, Clem,  who  has  maintained  his  figure 
and  his  looks,  in  spite  of  his  years. 

Mrs.  Miniver  restores  the  reader's  faith 
in  humanity — and  in  good  novels. — M.  C.  /. 

JACOBY'S  CORNERS 

(Jake  Falstaff.     Houghton  Mifflin 
Company,  Boston,   1940.     242  pages. 
$2.50.) 

Refreshing  as  a  draft  of  the  apple  cider 
which  the  author  introduces  into  this 
nostalgic  novel  of  his  farming  boyhood, 
this  book  is  a  delightful  throwback  to  days 
when  solid  virtues  were  to  be  admired  and 
sought  diligently.  In  the  story,  which  deals 
with  the  visit  of  Lemuel  Hayden  to  his 
maternal  grandparents  at  Jacoby's  Corn- 
ners,  the  author  in  this  posthumous  volume 
has  condensed  much  of  his  own  philosophy 
and  wisdom  and  geniality  to  make  a  tender, 
whimsical,   and   altogether  loveable  novel. 

—M.  C.  /. 

WRITING  AS  A  HOBBY 
(Donald  MacCampbell.    Harper  and 
Brothers,  New  York,  1940.     176  pages. 
$2.00.) 

'"Phe  author  in  his  introduction  makes  the 
•*■  statement,  "There  are  few  things  more 
essential  to  a  man's  state  of  happiness  than 
a  well-chosen  hobby."  With  this  concept 
Mr.  MacCampbell  proceeds  to  tell  his 
readers  that  writing  as  a  hobby  is  worth- 
while. This  does  not  mean  that  the  efforts 
will  ever  find  a  market — and  what  if  they 
don't,  they  have  satisfied  an  insistent  urge. 
From  this  introduction,  the  author  enters 
into  a  discussion  of  several  kinds  of  writing : 
subjective  writing,  which  includes:  memoirs, 
true  experiences,  "How  to  Do"  articles, 
narrative  articles,  and  essays;  objective 
writing,  divided  into:  expository  articles, 
personality  stories,  newspaper  features, 
{Concluded  on  page  37) 

35 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,    JANUARY,     1941 


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WHAT  ARE  YOUR  WORDS 
WORTH? 

By  M.  G.  Addison 

"\T17ords  are  tricky  gadgets  designed 
v"  to  catch  the  interest  of  people. 
They  tempt  if  they  are  used  to  adver- 
tise; they  wake  up  faculties  in  man  if 
they  are  used  to  theorize.  For  those 
who  sleep,  they  have  a  yet  stranger 
power,  akin  to  pulling  down  the  shades 
or  turning  off  the  lights. 

So,  be  careful  of  your  words! 

In  the  innuendos  of  selling  words 
lies  more  power  of  appeal  to  people 
than  in  most  desk-pounding.  If  you 
choose  your  words  with  the  care  you 
use  on  a  magnet  in  a  jack-straw  game, 
you  may  help  to  direct  the  thought  of 
your  community. 

Coarse,  grainy,  punch  words,  that 
sing  or  chortle,  snicker  or  shout,  will 
sell.  Once  the  prospect  understands 
the  import  of  an  explosive  sentence 
filled  with  these  words,  your  idea,  if 
it  is  of  any  worth  at  all,  is  sold.  Choose 
these  selling  words  and  you  are  des- 
tined for  success,  the  advertising  busi- 
ness, or  the  diplomatic  field. 

Then,  you  know  words  that  catch 
the  gleam  of  the  sun  on  the  mountains, 
replace  the  whispers  of  the  wind 
around  the  corners  of  the  building,  or 
send  shivers  through  you.  You  who 
are  users  of  these  words,  your  pens 
will  write  poet  or  dramatist  or  story- 
teller. Beware  of  these  words!  Let 
them  mature  slowly  around  your  realest 
ideas,  for  words  of  this  type  deserve 
depth  behind  them. 

But  if  your  words  chug  along  drolly 
or  turn  up  all  the  alleyways  for  a 
laugh,  then  your  reputation  is  certain 
as  a  humorist — and  that  is  enough  for 
anyone. 

Then,  too,  you  may  trip  over  the 
five-syllable,  "inflated  balloon"  words 
that  float  the  ego  higher.  Choose  these, 
and  you  may  be  stopped  altogether. 
Few  faults  in  the  English  language  are 
dealt  with  so  firmly  as  these  same  high- 
handed words  for  ideas  that  hold  no 
substance.  Once  this  language  fraud  is 
discovered,  no  power  can  restore  the 
public's  trust  and  belief  in  the  writer 
and  his  sincerity. 

There  are  also  those  word-users  who 
roam  with  abandon  through  old  vol- 
umes of  leaky  gazettes,  earmark  the 
law  books,  or  study  tomes  to  preach. 
If  you  are  one  of  these,  your  words  will 
be — well,  different.  Some  of  them  may 
be  good  psychological  or  emotional 
ballast.  But  watch  carefully  that  most 
of  them  be  wise,  or  the  weight  of  these 
words  will  sink  your  ideas  and  your 
reputation. 

Choose  your  words  wisely.  You  will 
discover  their  worth. 


Payment  for  Handy  Hints  used  will  be 
one  dollar  upon  publication.  In  the  event 
that  two  with  the  same  idea  are  submitted, 
the  one  postmarked  earliest  will  receive  the 
dollar.  None  of  the  ideas  can  be  returned, 
but  each  will  receive  careful  consideration. 

VJThen  sewing  on  my  machine,  I  take 
"^  a  strip  of  soft  cloth  such  as  flannel 
and  wrap  it  around  the  arm  of  my  sew- 
ing machine  next  to  the  needle  shaft. 
This  serves  as  a  pincushion  for  pins 
and  needles  used  while  I  am  sewing. — 
A.  G.  M.,  Smithfield,  Utah. 

"\JK7hen  ink  is  spilled  on  cloth,  soak 
*'  cloth  in  buttermilk,  changing 
often,  and  the  stain  will  be  removed 
without  endangering  the  color. — E.  E.r 
Shiprock,  New  Mexico. 

T  save  all  my  wax  paper  bread  wrap- 
pers  in  a  pocket  near  the  stove.  I 
use  them  to  wipe  off  the  stove,  etc.  This 
saves  the  dish  and  dust  cloths,  for  the 
wrappers  can  be  burned  and  put  out  of 
the  way.  I  also  use  them  to  wrap  my 
silverware.  It  then  never  tarnishes  and 
is  just  as  bright  when  I  get  ready  to 
use  it  as  when  it  was  put  away. — E.  S.r 
Eagar,  Arizona. 

By  Barbara  Badger  Burnett 

Baked  Spaghetti  Dinner 

Cook  ll/2  pounds  spaghetti  in  boiling 
salted  water  until  tender  and  drain.  Mix 
two  pounds  of  ground  round  steak  and  one 
chopped  onion.  Fry  until  brown,  stirring 
often.  Add  one  pint  bottle  of  catsup  and 
two  packages  Chedder  Cheese.  When 
cheese  is  melted,  pour  the  sauce  over  the 
hot  spaghetti  and  bake  twenty  minutes. 

Crab  Meat  in  Aspic 

1  package  salad  gelatin   (aspic) 

1  cup  boiling  water 
l/2  cup  cold  water 
}/2  cup  chili  sauce 

2  tablespoons  lemon  juice 
2  chopped  sweet  pickles 

1   pound  crab  meat 

1  cup  celery,  diced 

2  drops  tabasco  sauce 

Dissolve  the  gelatin  in  boiling  water. 
Add  the  cold  water,  and  chill  until  it  begins 
to  thicken.  Add  the  rest  of  the  ingredients. 
Place  in  individual  molds  and  set  in  the  ice 
box  to  harden.  Garnish  with  lettuce  and 
mayonnaise. 

Eggs,  Dixie  Style 

Put  one  can  of  corn  into  a  mixing  bowl; 
stir  into  it  one-half  cup  pancake  flour;  add 
the  beaten  yolks  of  two  eggs  and  one-half 
cup  of  evaporated  milk.     Season  with  salt 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,     JANUARY,     1941 


and  pepper.  Beat  two  egg  whites  stiff  and 
fold  into  the  mixture.  Cook  like  small 
pancakes,  about  three  inches  in  diameter. 
Arrange  browned  cakes  on  a  platter.  Put 
a  poached  egg  on  top  of  each  one  and  serve 
with  spiced  apple  butter. 

Cinnamon  Rolls 

Remove  the  crusts  from  thinly  sliced 
bread.  Cream  one-half  cup  of  butter,  one 
cup  brown  sugar,  and  cinnamon  together 
to  make  a  soft  paste.  Spread  on  bread. 
Roll  up  and  fasten  with  a  toothpick.  Toast 
on  all  sides  and  remove  the  toothpick  before 
serving. 

Graham   Cracker  Meringues 

2  egg  whites 

34  teaspoon  cream  of  tartar 
4  tablespoons  powdered  sugar 
1  teaspoon  vanilla 
1  small  package  cocoanut 
1  dozen  graham  crackers 

Beat  the  egg  whites  until  frothy,  add  the 
cream  of  tartar,  and  continue  beating  until 
stiff  enough  to  hold  its  shape.  Beat  in  the 
sugar  gradually.  Add  the  vanilla.  Put 
graham  crackers  on  a  baking  tin;  pile  a 
spoonful  of  meringue  on  the  top;  sprinkle 
with  cocoanut,  and  bake  at  325  degrees  un- 
til brown.  Remove  from  the  oven  and  let 
cool  in  the  pan. 

Date  Sandwiches 

Chop  two  cups  of  stoned  dates;  put  into  a 
sauce  pan  with  one-half  cup  sugar  and  one- 
half  cup  of  water.  Cook,  stirring  constantly 
until  mixture  is  thick.  Cool  and  spread 
between  buttered  wholewheat  bread. 

Banana  Snow  Pudding 

1  package  lemon  gelatin 
1   cup  boiling  water 

1  cup  cold  water 

Yl  cup  whipping  cream 

3  bananas,  thinly  sliced 

2  tablespoons  lemon  juice 
12  marshmallows,  quartered 
34  cup  powdered  sugar 

Dissolve  the  gelatin  in  the  boiling  water. 
Add  the  cold  water  and  chill  until  it  begins 
to  stiffen.  Whip  with  a  rotary  beater  until 
thick  and  white.  Fold  in  the  cream  which 
has  been  whipped  and  sweetened  with  the 
powdered  sugar.  Add  the  marshmallows 
and  last  the  bananas  which  have  been 
standing  in  the  lemon  juice.  Mold  and  chill. 
Garnish  with  cherries. 


On  The  Book  Rack 

( Concluded  from  page  35 ) 

book  reviews,  trade  paper  articles;  creative 
essays,  which  includes:  one-act  plays,  greet- 
ing card  verse,  juvenile  short  stories,  short 
stories  for  adults — both  pulp  and  slicks. 
In  each  section  the  author,  himself  a 
literary  agent,  has  given  helpful,  practical 
suggestions  in  addition  to  a  list  of  markets 
with  their  requirements  and  their  rate  of 
payment.  This  will  prove  a  handy,  helpful 
volume. — M.  C.  /. 

WHERE,  OH,   WHERE? 

(Story  and  pictures  by  Tom  Torre  Bevans, 

The  Viking  Press,  New  York,  1939.  $1.00.) 

This  story  of  Patrick  and  his  dog,  Dirty, 
and  William's  horse,  Spots,  is  the 
kind  of  story  that  very  young  children  will 
read  over  and  over  again —  and  which 
will  touch  even  their  parents'  hearts  in  the 
right  places. — M.  C.  J. 


3H  «rv  s.  to* 


* tsp*  'Sltf»a,n0n 


eSS\a\* 


1  tsP* 
?**&\   of  a*&c  *U*C  *** 


1 
I 
I 
1 


Tit***096 


Send  the  "Era"  to  your  friends 
and  loved  ones  away  from  home. 


THE  ADVERTISERS 

and  Where  You  Will  Find 

Their  Messages 

Alexandria  Hotel  4 

Ambassador  Hotel  57 

Beneficial  Life  Insurance  Co 

...Back  Cover 

Bluhill  Cheese  Company 37 

Borden's   St.   Charles   Evaporated 

Milk 61 

Brigham  Young  University 59 

Continental  Oil  Company 5 

Deere,  John Inside  Back  Cover 

Deseret  News  Press 62 

Globe  Grain  and  Milling  Co 37,  61 

Hall's  Canker  Remedy  60 

Hovey  Press -60 

International  Harvester  Co.,  Inc 6 

KSL ....Inside  Front  Cover 

L.  D.  S.  Business  College 63 

Lankershim  Hotel 55 

Mountain  Fuel  Supply  Co 56 

Mountain  States  Implement  Co 58 

Ogden  School  of  Beauty  Culture.... 60 

Par  Soap 4 

Purity  Biscuit  Company  36 

Quish  School  of  Beauty  Culture... .55 

Red  Comet  Fire  Extinguisher  Co 59 

Royal  Baking  Co 55 

Safeway  Stores,  Inc 3 

Utah  Engraving  Co 55 

Utah  Home  Fire  Insurance  Co 60 

Utah-Idaho  School  Supply  Co 1 

Utah  Oil  Refining  Co 1 

Utah  Poultry  Prod.  Co-op.  Assn 55 

Utah  Power  &  Light 54 


3/ 


illlelchizedeirPriesthood 


CONDUCTED  BY  THE  MELCHIZEDEK  PRIESTHOOD    COMMITTEE  OF  THE  COUNCIL  OF  THE  TWELVE — ■ 
JOSEPH  FIELDING  SMITH,   CHAIRMAN*,  JOHN  A.  WIDTSOE,  JOSEPH  F.  MERRILL,  AND  SYLVESTER  Q.  CANNON 


Organization,  Function  of  the 
Stake  Melchizedek  Priesthood 
Committee 

'T'he  stake  presidency  with  the  ap- 
proval  of  the  high  council  shall 
appoint  a  Melchizedek  Priesthood 
Committee  with  a  minimum  of  five  mem- 
bers, consisting  of  a  member  of  the 
stake  presidency,  a  high  councilor,  a 
High  Priest  to  represent  the  High 
Priests'  quorum,  a  Seventy,  and  an 
Elder.  Additional  members  may  be 
appointed  if  necessary  to  do  well  the 
work  of  the  committee.  From  the 
committee  the  chairman  shall  choose, 
with  the  approval  of  the  stake  presi- 
dency, four  assistants — a  High  Coun- 
selor, a  High  Priest,  a  Seventy,  and  an 
Elder.  A  secretary  of  the  committee 
may  also  be  appointed. 

1.  To  train  quorum  officers  in  their  duties 
so  that  they  might  become  effective  in 
their  leadership. 

a.  By  conducting  a  monthly  leadership 
meeting  with  the  officers  and  leaders 
of  the  quorums  and  groups.  (See 
Dec,  1940,  Era,  p.  744.) 

b.  By  stimulating  and  assisting  them  to 
make  their  work  more  effective.  (As 
to  the  Seventies,  this  relates  exclus- 
ively to  local  activities  in  stakes  and 
wards,  and  does  not  conflict  with  the 
system  of  supervision  of  the  First 
Council  of  Seventy.) 

c.  By  keeping  in  touch  with  the  work 
and  activities  of  all  the  Melchizedek 
Priesthood  quorums  in  the  stake. 

d.  By  visiting  the  meeting  of  every  quo- 
rum and  group  at  least  quarterly. 

e.  By  encouraging  regular  council  meet- 
ings of  the  quorum  presidency. 

f.  By  seeing  that  instructions  of  the 
Council  of  Twelve  relative  to  quorum 
activities  are  carried   out. 

2.  To  report  promptly  to  the  stake  presi- 
dency any  vacancy  in  a  quorum  presi- 
dency. 

3.  To  make  a  quarterly  report  and  to  collect 
quarterly  quorum  reports  and  send  them 
to  the  Council  of  Twelve. 

Elders'  Conventions 

'T'he  question  has  been  asked  whether 
it  is  permissible  to  hold  stake  con- 
ventions of  Elders. 

The  presiding  brethren  have  ruled 
that  such  conventions  may  be  held 
quarterly  if  so  desired  by  the  stake 
presidency.  They  will  necessarily  be 
under  the  direction  of  the  stake  presi- 
dency and  the  stake  Melchizedek 
Priesthood  committee. 

The  purpose  of  these  conventions 
should  be  to  stimulate  the  Elders'  quo- 
rums into  greater  activity  and  to  furnish 
such  information  as  these  quorums  may 
need  for  their  best  progress. 

38 


1941   PRIESTHOOD 
COURSE  OF  STUDY 

npHE  Priesthood  course  of 
study  for  1941  will  be  a 
continuation  of  the  book  Priest- 
hood  and  Church  Government. 
Outlines  for  the  lesson  may  be 
found  as  usual  in  the  Mel- 
chizedek Priesthood  Depart- 
ment of  The  Improvement  Era 
one  month  in  advance,  the  les- 
sons for  January  being  con- 
tained in  the  December,  1940, 
issue. 


ANTI- LIQUOR -TOBACCO 
COLUMN 


Work  for  1941 

'T'he  year  1941  will  be  the  fourth  for 
■*■  the  Church-wide  total  abstinence 
campaign.  Shall  we  all  resolve  to  make 
it  the  best  and  most  successful  year  the 
campaign  has  had?  Will  every  stake 
committee  resolve  that  every  month  of 
the  year  shall  be  filled  with  a  high 
degree  of  activity  in  promoting  the  in- 
terests of  the  campaign? 

What  can  these  committees  do?  Here 
are  a  few  things: 

1.  Through  the  Priesthood  members  on 
the  committee  keep  in  contact  with  the 
presidencies  of  all  the  Priesthood  quorums — 
both  Melchizedek  and  Aaronic — in  the 
stake  and  wards,  encouraging  them  to  re- 
spond to  the  request  of  the  First  Presidency 
that  the  campaign  be  "a  project  for  all 
the  Priesthood  quorums,  both  Melchizedek 
and  Aaronic,  charging  the  quorums  with 
the  responsibility  of  (a)  keeping  their  own 
members  free  from  the  vice  of  using  alcohol 
and  tobacco,  and  (b)  assisting  all  others 
to  do  likewise."  {Improvement  Era,  Feb., 
1938,  p.  105.) 

Hence,  the  quorum  presidencies  of  all 
quorums  in  the  Church  are  to  be  held  re- 
sponsible for  the  campaign's  reaching  all 
their  members.  Personal  contact,  tactfully 
made,  is  the  approved  method  of  conduct- 
ing the  campaign  among  these  members. 
Great  aids  in  the  work  among  members 
are  the  three  booklets  sponsored  by  the 
Church  General  Campaign  Committee — 
Alcohol  Talks  to  Youth,  Nicotine  on  the 
Air,  and  The  Word  of  Wisdom  in  Practical 
Terms.  These  booklets  are  still  available 
in  any  needed  quantities. 

2.  Keep  the  records,  films,  and  slides 
received  from  the  General  Committee  or 
any  of  the  General  Boards  in  active  circu- 
lation. 

3.  See  that  the  laws  relative  to  the  non- 
sale  of  narcotics  to,  and  use  by,  minors  are 


enforced.  This  might  well  be  a  unified 
county-wide  movement  by  all  the  commit- 
tees in  each  of  the  counties.  (In  Salt  Lake 
County  the  committees  are  actively  work- 
ing on  this  project.) 

4.  Keep  the  campaign  alive  in  every 
stake  by  suitable  means — projects  of  vari- 
ous kinds,  distribution  of  literature,  personal 
contacts,  etc. 

Let  every  committee  resolve  to  be  active, 
hold  frequent  meetings  to  plan  things  to  do, 
and  then  execute  the  plans. 

New  Booklet  for  Distribution 

Tn  keeping  with  the  plan  that  each  aux- 
iliary  organization  in  the  Church  un- 
dertake a  project  to  further  the  interests 
of  the  campaign,  the  Relief  Society  is 
arranging  for  distribution  throughout 
the  Church  a  folder  containing  an  article 
on  the  "Injurious  Effects  Resulting  from 
the  Moderate  Use  of  Alcohol,"  by 
Colonel  L.  Mervin  Maus  of  the  U.  S. 
Army  Medical  Corps. 

Colonel  Maus  very  convincingly 
treats  the  subject  of  the  evils  and 
danger  to  the  home  life  of  America, 
which  he  claims  are  inseparably  con- 
nected with  the  "moderate  social  drink." 
This  interesting  and  informative  ma- 
terial should  be  very  helpful  to  our 
people  in  trying  to  establish  the  atti- 
tude that  it  is  "smart  not  to  drink." 

Every  family  in  the  Church  should 
have  access  to  this  splendid  article.  We 
congratulate  the  Relief  Society  on  the 
proposed  distribution  through  the  facil- 
ities of  its  organization. 

Relief  Society  Initiative 

Tn  Bear  River  Stake  the  Relief  Society 
■*■  has  set  a  fine  example  for  other 
organizations  in  carrying  on  the  Cam- 
paign for  the  Non-use  of  Alcohol  and 
Tobacco.  The  General  Committee  has 
urged  that  all  the  stakes  develop  means 
of  promoting  the  campaign  in  their  lo- 
cality. In  this  stake  the  Relief  Society 
has  sponsored  a  project  that  should 
be  helpful  in  discouraging  the  use  of 
alcohol  or  tobacco  by  the  young  people. 
About  six  weeks  ago  the  Bear  River 
Stake  Relief  Society  had  a  number  of 
placards  printed,  giving  the  laws  of 
the  State  of  Utah  with  respect  to  dis- 
pensing alcoholic  beverages  and  tobac- 
co to  minors.  After  quoting  the  law, 
this  statement  is  made  in  bold  type: 
"As  the  youth  of  today  are  the  men  and 
women  of  tomorrow,  our  imperative  re' 
quest  is  that  the  youth  of  today  be 
protected."  Following  this  are  the  sig- 
natures of  the  bishops  of  the  wards 
and  members  of  the  stake  campaign 
committee.  These  placards  have  been 
placed  in  every  business  establishment 
that  sells  liquor  or  tobacco. 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,    JANUARY,     1941 


We  commend  the  officers  of  this 
stake  Relief  Society  for  their  initiative 
and  resourcefulness.  The  campaign 
will  continue  to  go  forward  with  the 
active  interest  and  support  of  such  or- 
ganizations as  this. 


QUORUM  PROJECTS 

What  Is  Your  Quorum  Doing? 


A  Quorum's  Remarkable  Revival 

At  the  November  quarterly  confer- 
**  ence  of  Panguitch  Stake  the  Third 
Quorum  of  Elders  reported  through  its 
president,  Ernest  L.  Ahlstrom,  a  re- 
markable revival.  A  year  earlier  the 
quorum  was  nearly  lifeless.  Elder 
Ahlstrom  was  installed  as  president. 
Then  planning  was  begun  and  soon 
things  began  to  happen.  Following  is 
a  summary  of  the  report  President 
Ahlstrom  made  at  the  conference: 

Objectives  were  drawn  up.  To  get 
every  member  to  be  active,  various 
things  were  done.  These  were  accom- 
plished by  the  following  means:  The 
Church  Service  Committee  contacted 
every  member  to  ascertain  who  was 
willing  to  take  active  part  in  Church 
activity.  These  members  were  all  given 
an  opportunity  to  render  service  in  the 
Church.  Those  who  were  backward 
and  previously  inactive  were  assigned 
to  work  projects  and  social  gatherings 
to  work  them  in  gradually  as  members 
of  some  committee  or  special  service. 
We  tried  at  all  times  to  learn  a  man's 
hobby,  or  anything  that  especially  in- 
terested him.  Those  who  seemed  to 
have  no  interests  at  all  gave  us  some 
clues  by  which  we  could  approach 
them.  Those  interested  in  dramatics, 
for  instance,  were  given  positions  on 
the  entertainment  committee  under  the 
direction  of  the  chairman  of  the  Mis- 
cellaneous Committee.  One  member 
who  seemed  inactive  came  to  life  when 
we  learned  he  was  interested  in  base- 
ball. A  baseball  team  in  the  Elders' 
quorum  was  talked  up,  resulting  in  our 
having  another  active  member  who  sup- 
ports us  loyally  in  all  our  projects.  Such 
means  as  these  have  enabled  us  to  reach 
out  and  interest  our  members. 

We  also  found  that  some  members 
who  were  inactive  had  wives  who  were 
more  or  less  active.  Therefore,  we  or- 
ganized a  ladies'  auxiliary  to  the  Elders' 
quorum,  having  the  same  committees  as 
the  Priesthood  quorum.  Those  women 
whose  husbands  were  inactive  eventu- 
ally brought  their  husbands  into  ac- 
tivity. This  ladies'  organization  gave 
invaluable  assistance  in  the  barbeque 
which  the  Elders  put  on  to  raise  the 
money  for  our  seminary.  At  this  per- 
formance we  served  between  six  and 
seven  hundred  people.  The  outstand- 
ing achievement  of  this  undertaking  was 
that  we  had  activity  from  every  mem- 
ber of  the  Elders'  quorum,  as  well  as 
from  members  of  the  Adult  Aaronic 
Priesthood. 


A  project  of  the  Class  Instruction 
Committee  was  putting  over  last  year's 
Era  campaign.  Needless  to  say,  our 
ward — the  Tropic — went  over  the  top. 
Since  Priesthood  members  are  sup- 
posed to  teach  their  children,  they  must 
know  what  to  teach  and  how  to  teach, 
and  they  were  shown  how  the  Era  could 
solve  the  problem.  Thus  practically  all 
Elders  in  the  Tropic  Ward  have  access 
to  the  Era.  If  they  themselves  do  not 
take  it,  some  of  their  families  or  rela- 
tives do.  The  Era  has  a  great  spiritual 
up-lift  in  the  homes  of  our  members. 

The  Personal  Welfare  Committee 
had  its  projects.  When  the  green  card 
survey  was  made,  we  noticed  that  a 
large  percentage  of  our  members  were 
receiving  aid  from  the  Government  in 
one  way  or  another.  Practically  every- 
thing consumed  was  being  bought.  No 
longer  were  our  people  self-sufficient. 
To  the  quorum  presidency  this  fact  was 
alarming.  Therefore  we  set  these  ob- 
jectives : 

1.  Every  Elder  and  his  family  to  raise  a 
garden.  Those  who  did  not  have  access 
to  a  garden  plot  were  to  get  one  from 
relatives  or  other  members. 

2.  Every  Elder  to  have  a  milk  cow 
where  possible.  Some  Elders  had  two 
cows  or  more  and  the  members  who  wanted 
cows  were  thus  provided  for. 

3.  Every  Elder's  family  to  raise  at  least 
fifty  chickens,  thus  providing  eggs  for  the 
family  and  an  occasional  chicken  dinner. 

4.  Every  family  who  could  keep  a  pig 
was  to  raise  its  own  pork. 

5.  Every  Elder  who  had  a  farm  was 
encouraged  to  grow  wheat  and  thus  have 
his  own  flour.  This  phase  of  the  project 
failed  to  materialize  because  nearly  every 
farmer  was  signed  up  with  the  Government 
farm  program.  However,  it  is  possible  of 
accomplishment  and  we  are  not  going  to 
give  up  the  idea. 

6.  Building  Program.  We  now  have  a 
building  program  under  the  direction  of 
the  chairman  of  the  four  standing  com- 
mittees. The  objective  of  this  program  is 
to  have  every  Elder  in  his  own  home  during 
1941.     We  have  one  new  home  practically 


QUORUM       PRESIDENCY      AND       WELFARE 

COMMITTEE,    THIRD    QUORUM     OF    ELDERS, 

OF  BLACKFOOT  STAKE 

Left  to  right:  Leeman  Jorgensen,  President; 
James  Christensen,  1st  Counselor;  Jack  Hatch, 
2nd  Counselor;  Grant  Fortran,  Horace  Herick,  and 
Harold  Belnap,  welfare  committee. 


completed.  The  Elder  and  his  family  have 
moved  in  and  will  complete  it  before  winter 
sets  in.  One  woman  has  had  help  to  re- 
roof  her  home.  Another  has  built  a  new 
home  and  has  received  considerable  aid 
from  this  committee.  Another  Elder  has 
completed  a  basement  of  his  home  with  the 
quorum's  help  and  is  now  moving  into  it. 
We  now  have  two  more  new  homes  to 
construct  on  this  project  and  three  to  com- 
plete, that  are  now  partially  done,  as  well 
as  three  to  repair.  The  members  desiring 
homes  have  furnished  the  material  and  the 
quorum  members  have  assisted  with  the 
construction. 

We  have  been  negotiating  for  a  saw- 
mill, but  as  yet  this  is  not  completed. 
However,  we  hope  to  have  in  our  quo- 
rum either  a  mill  or  arrangements 
whereby  our  members  can  work  at  a 
mill  to  get  lumber  for  building  pur- 
poses. 

We  are  looking  forward  to  estab- 
lishing the  Church  Welfare  Program 
in  our  quorum  and  expect  to  take  care 
of  every  quorum  member.  We  are 
always  open  for  suggestions  on  how  to 
better  the  spiritual  and  temporal  wel- 
fare of  our  quorum  and  its  members. 

Blackfoot  Stake  Elders 

President  J.  Lloyd  Porter  of  the 
Blackfoot  Stake  reports  a  beet  project 
carried  on  by  the  3rd  Quorum  of  Elders 
of  the  Blackfoot  Stake.  He  reports 
that  for  some  years  past  this  quorum 
has  handled  this  project  successfully. 
The  Elders  had  five  and  one  half  acres 
of  beets  with  a  yield  of  107  tons.  At 
the  time  of  harvest,  forty-five  men,  with 
four  trucks,  seven  teams  of  horses,  and 
four  plows  were  put  to  work,  and  the 
entire  crop  was  dug,  topped,  and 
hauled  to  the  beet  dump  in  ten  hours. 
The  following  day  this  same  group  dug 
two  acres  of  beets  for  a  quorum  mem- 
ber who  was  sick.  (See  photograph, 
this  page.) 

Priesthood,  Non-Members  Join 
In  Bakersfield  House-Building 

By  Ray  Baker 

Monday,  June  10,  1940,  saw  the  be- 
ginning of  a  project  by  the  Bakersfield 
Branch  ( California )  Melchizedek 
Priesthood.  The  project  was  building 
a  house  and  garage,  from  the  ground 
up,  for  Sister  Ella  Myers,  a  widowed 
member  of  the  Church. 

Previous  to  the  actual  inauguration  of  the 
project,  Harry  Carlson,  a  loyal  supporter 
but  non-member  of  the  Church,  had  hauled 
a  load  of  lumber  from  Los  Angeles  to  the 
site  of  the  building.  Forms  were  made  and 
most  of  the  foundation  poured  the  first  day. 
Work  went  forward  daily  with  one  car- 
penter and  his  helper  being  the  only  paid 
laborers,  who  completed  their  part  of  the 
construction  within  five  weeks.  Harry 
Carlson  supervised  the  building  after  the 
carpenter  left. 

During  the  progress  of  construction 
many  trips  were  made  to  different  localities 
to  secure  materials  at  the  most  reasonable 
price.  At  the  Pioneer  Hardware  Co.  in 
Los  Angeles,  Mr.  Carlson  received  a  15% 
discount  on  plumbing  supplies.  The  owner 
was   very    sympathetic    with    the    project, 

(Continued  on  page  40) 

39 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,    JANUARY,     1941 


(Continued  from  page  39) 
although   he  was   not  a  Church   member. 
The  truck  of  brother  E.  A.  Moyes  was  used 
to    transport   the   plumbing   supplies    from 
Los  Angeles  to  Bakersfield. 

A  power-saw  was  offered  by  Carl  An- 
derson, a  non-member,  and  used  during  the 
entire  construction  of  the  house  and  garage. 
A  cabinetmaker,  T.  Carlton,  also  a  non- 
member,  offered  his  assistance  by  doing  the 
cabinet  work  at  cost  price.  The  electrical 
wiring  was  done  by  Vaughn  Malquist,  a 
member  of  the  branch  presidency. 

The  greater  part  of  the  work  was  done 
by  Harry  Carlson  and  Chester  Barham,  an 
Elder,  who  worked  faithfully  until  the  home 
was  completed.  Brother  Barham  also 
handled  all  of  the  finances  and  reports,  the 
total  cost  being:  house  and  garage,  $1,675; 
lot,  $375;  or  a  total  expenditure  of  $2,050. 

The  five-room  house  is  thirty-two  feet 
by  twenty-six  and  one-half  feet,  modern 
throughout,  with  hardwood  floors.  The 
kitchen  includes  tile  drain  boards  and  built- 
in  cabinets.  The  bathroom  has  a  stall 
shower  with  a  tile  back-wall. 

The  majority  of  the  Priesthood  group 
turned  out  to  speed  the  construction.  Those 
putting  forth  special  effort  include:  Harry 
Carlson,  Chester  Barham,  Vaughn  Mal- 
quist, George  Berg,  De  Loss  Miller,  Lucien 
Lewis,  Cyril  Brimhall,  Lloyd  Wright,  Jr., 
and  Ray  Baker.  Others  helping  were: 
Floyd  Lucier,  Sr.,  Milan  Houldridge,  Roy 
Ockey,  Lewis  Ricks,  Sr.,  Lewis  Ricks,  Jr., 
Gayne  and  Douglas  Wimer,  John  and  Reid 
Bunting,  Roy  and  Lonnie  Pathe,  John 
Amundson,  Port  Gabbitas,  William  Buys, 
Henry  Bundy,  E.  A.  Moyes,  Edwin  Tow- 
ers, Wilford  Menlove,  Carl  Wells,  and 
Garlan  Eggman.  Sisters  Una  Carlson, 
Jessie  Bundy,  and  Mollie  Wilson  also 
helped,  providing  refreshments  and  often 
helping  with  the  construction. 

The  project  was  declared  completed 
August  26,  1940,  there  being  a  total  of 
1,020  man  hours  expended. 

The  Aaronic  Priesthood  has  accepted 
the  project  of  leveling  the  yard  and  planting 
a  lawn. 

(President  W.  Aird  Macdonald  reports 
that  Harry  Carlson  was  baptized  in  Salt 
Lake  during  October  General  Conference — 
a  satisfying  conclusion  of  a  worthwhile 
project.) 


Melchizedek  Priesthood  Outline  of  Study,  February,  1941 

Text:     Priesthood  and  Church  Government. 
( See  also  supplementary  readings,  problems,  and  projects  below ) 


LESSON  XL 

Judicial  Provisions 
(Read  chapter  17,  pp.  211-215) 
I.  Jurisdiction  of  Church  courts 

a.  Concerned  with  infraction  of  moral 
law:  right  of  religious  societies  to 
deal  with  own  members 

1.  For  un-Christianlike  conduct 

2.  For  violation  of  laws,  rules,  and 
discipline  of  Church:  matters  of 
fellowship  and  good  standing 

b.  Not  concerned  with  prosecution 
of  civil  law 

1.  Cannot  try  for  life  or  property 

2.  Cannot  inflict  physical  punish- 
ment 

3.  Do  not  reverse  civil  law  deci- 
sions 

4.  Do  not  try  matters  provided  for 
in  civil  courts:  except  in  cases 
of  manifest  wickedness  and  de- 
pravity 

II.  Settlement  of  personal  misunderstand- 
ings 

a.  By  acknowledgment  of  wrong  to 
self,  to  the  Lord,  to  persons  of- 
fended or  involved 

b.  By  mediation  of  Priesthood  if 
necessary 

1.  Order  in  seeking  counsel 

(a)  Ward  Teachers 

(b)  Bishop 

(c)  Stake  High  Council 

(d)  First  Presidency 

2.  Wrong  to  disregard  any  of 
these  steps 

III.  Confessions  and  forgiveness 

a.  Private  confession  of  sin  to  bishop 
or  branch  president 

b.  Public  confession  only  of  public 
transgression 

c.  Complete  repentance  should  ac- 
company confession 

d.  Liability  to  official  censure  for  re- 
fusal to  acknowledge  wrong 

IV.  Offenses  against  the  Church 
a.  Breaking  of  moral  law 


CALIFORNIA        MISSION 
BAKERSFIELD     PROJECT 

Left:  Myers  home  com- 
pleted,  Bakersfield  Branch. 

Right:  Mrs.  Ella  Myers, 
her  nephew,  and  Harry  Carl- 
son   (supervisor    of    project). 

Priesthood  group  working 
on  the  Myers  home  project, 
Bakersfield  Branch,  California 
Mission. 

40 


b.  Deliberate  disobedience  to  regu- 
lations of  Church 

c.  Incorrect  interpretation  of  doctrine 
and  unwillingness  to  accept  cor- 
rect view 

V.  Church  punishments 

a.  Disfellowshipment:  probation 

b.  Excommunication:  complete  sev- 
erance 

VI.  Treatment  of  those  excommunicated 
or  disfellowshiped 

a.  Kindliness,  encouragement 

b.  Restoration  of  fellowship 

1.  Upon  complete  repentance 

2.  By  same  or  higher  tribunal 

c.  Restoration  of  woman's  fellowship 

1.  Fulness  of  former  blessings  up- 
on baptism 

2.  Written  permission  from  Presi- 
dent of  Church  not  necessary  to 
restore  endowments  as  with 
Priesthood 

Problems  and  projects: 

1.  Have  various  members  read  aloud  the 
selections  from  the  Doctrine  and  Cove- 
nants found  in  Supplementary  Readings. 

2.  How  well  does  the  sphere  of  jurisdic- 
tion of  Church  courts  illustrate  the  proper 
separation  of  church  and  state  in  our  society? 

3.  Invite  the  bishop  or  a  member  of  the 
stake  presidency,  if  possible,  to  relate  in- 
stances of  disregard  for  the  proper  order  in 
seeking  counsel  in  the  Church. 

4.  Differentiate  between  personal  misun- 
derstandings and  grievances  against  the 
Church  at  large. 

5.  Call  for  testimonies  relating  how  kind- 
liness and  encouragement  have  enabled  err- 
ing persons  to  return  to  the  fold  of  the 
Church.  (Mention  of  specific  name,  of 
course,  should  be  avoided.) 

LESSON  XLI 

Judicial  Provisions:  Church  Tribunals 
(Read  chapter  17,  pp.  215-219) 

I.  "To  save,  not  to  condemn  men":  pri- 
mary duty  of  Church  tribunals 

a.  Private  settlement  of  difficulties 
preferable 

b.  Reconciliation  first  aim  of  Church 
council 

c.  Excommunication  last  resort 

d.  Right  of  appeal  to  higher  courts 

II.  Three  standing   Church  councils   of 
justice 

a.  Ward  Bishop's  Court 

1.  Personnel:  bishop  and  coun- 
selors 

2.  Jurisdiction:  limited  to  members 
of  ward 

3.  Punishments:  limited  to 

(a)  Excommunication  of  lay 
members  or  members  of 
Aaronic  Priesthood 

(b)  Disfellowshipment  of  men 
holding  Melchizedek 
Priesthood 

4.  Appeals:  to  Stake  High  Coun- 
cil 

b.  Stake  High  Council 

1.  Personnel:  twelve  High  Priests, 
stake  presidents,  counselors 

2.  Jurisdiction 

(a)  Appeals  from  Ward  Bish- 
op's Court 

(b)  Original  hearings 

3.  Appeals:  to  First  Presidency 

c.  Council  of  the  First  Presidency 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA,  JANUARY,  194T 


1.  Personnel 

(a)  President  of  Church,  two 
counselors 

(b)  Twelve  High  Priests  as 
counselors  when  desired 

2.  Jurisdiction 

(a)  Original  jurisdiction 

( 1 )  Over  all  other  councils 
and  courts  of  Church 

(2)  Over  bishops  and 
High  Priests  set  apart 
to    ministry 

(b)  Chief  function  as  court  of 
appeal:  decisions  final 

III.  Special  Church  councils 

a.  Presiding  Bishop's  Court:  Presid- 
ing Bishopric  and  twelve  specially 
chosen  High  Priests 

b.  Council  of  High  Priests  abroad 

1.  Personnel:     convened     outside 
stakes  or  organized  missions 

2.  Jurisdiction:  to  adjust  important 
difficulties,  emergencies 

3.  Not    necessary    under    present 
mission  system 

c.  Traveling  High  Council  of  the 
Twelve  Apostles 

1.  Personnel:      Quorum     of     the 
Twelve 

2.  Jurisdiction 

(a)  To  take  notice  of  any  ques- 
tion pertaining  to  kingdom 
of  God 

(b)  To  sit  as  judicial  body  at 
direction  of  First  Presi- 
dency 

(c)  Form  a  quorum  equal  in 
authority  and  power  to 
First  Presidency 

3.  May  be  called  to  account  by 

(a)  First  Presidency 

(b)  General  assembly  of  Gen- 

eral Authorities 

Problems  and  projects: 

1.  In  what  ways  can  the  Priesthood  and 
its  councils  mediate  to  "save"  rather  than 
to  "condemn"? 

2.  What  kind  of  training  in  temperament, 
judgment,  love,  and  tolerance  on  the  part 
of  members  of  the  Priesthood  does  the 
Church  system  of  tribunals  make  desirable? 

3.  Call  for  brief  accounts  from  different 
individuals  how  the  following  are  consti- 
tuted and  how  they  operate:  ( 1 )  Stake  High 
Council,  (2)  Council  of  the  First  Presidency, 

(3)   Presiding  Bishop's  Court,  (4)  Travel- 
ing High  Council  of  the  Twelve  Apostles. 

4.  Have  some  member  be  prepared 
to  draw  diagrams  on  the  board  of  the 
organization  and  jurisdiction  of  the  various 
councils  studied.  Pains  must  be  taken  to 
make  the  technical  details  of  the  month's 
lessons  form  a  clear  picture  in  the  mind  of 
each  member. 

LESSON  XLII 

Judicial  Provisions:    Procedure  of 

the  Ward  Bishop's  Court 

I.  Spirit  of  conducting  proceedings 

a.  Orderly,  precise,  correct  manner 

b.  Reconciliation  primary  object 

II.  The  complaint 

a.  Written  accusation  drawn  up  by 
accuser 

b.  Attested  to  by  bishop 

c.  Copy  sent  accused;  original  re- 
mains with  bishop 

III.  The  summons 

a.  Cites  accused  to  appear  before 
court  to  answer  charges 

b.  Signed  by  bishop,  clerk 

c.  Served  by  two  Teachers  as  witness 
of  notification 

IV.  The  citation 

a.  Takes  place  of  complaint  when 
Church,  rather  than  individual,  in- 
jured 


b.  Members  of  Melchizedek  Priest- 
hood appointed  to  investigate  and 
make   accusation 

c.  Alleged  wrong-doer  cited  to  ap- 
pear for  investigation  or  trial 

d.  Procedure  by  citation  same  as  pro- 
cedure by  complaint  and  summons 

V.  The  witnesses 

a.  Invited  and  examined  by  bishopric 

b.  Objections  of  witness  to  be  hon- 
ored 

c.  Objections  of  either  party  to  be 
presented  in  writing 

1.  To  be  reported  to  stake  presi- 
dency 

2.  Stake  presidency  may  remove 
case  to  another  bishopric 

3.  High  Council  may  assume  orig- 
inal jurisdiction 

VI.  The  trial  procedure 

a.  Bishop  and  counselors  constitute 
trial  court 

1.  Specially  appointed  High 
Priests  may  take  place  of  coun- 
selors 

2.  Names  of  High  Priests  subject 
to  approval  of  stake  presidency 

b.  Proceedings  opened  and  closed 
with  prayer 

c.  Witnesses  present  together  or  not 
according  to  decision  of  court 

d.  Full  record  of  proceedings  kept  by 
ward  clerk 

e.  Complaint  read  by  ward  clerk 

f.  Accused  called  upon  to  make  an- 
swer 

1.  Guilty:  judgment  rendered 

2.  Not  guilty:  trial  proceeds 

g.  Accuser,  witnesses  testify 
h.  Accused  cross-examines 
i.  Accused,  witnesses  testify 

j.  Court  examines,  cross-examines 

VII.  The  decision 

a.  Bishop  and  counselors  formulate 
decision 

1.  Decision  by  bishop,  one  coun- 
selor  valid 

2.  Decision  by  two  counselors 
without  concurrence  of  bishop 
not  valid 

(a)  Case  may  be  retried 

(b)  May  be  referred  to  stake 
presidency 

b.  Case  may  be  taken  under  advise- 
ment, adjourned 

c.  Written  copy  of  decision  to  be 
furnished  each  party. 

VIII.  Recording  the  action  taken 

a.  All  regularly  tried  cases  to  be  re- 
corded 

1.  In  ward  historical  record 

2.  In  ward  record  of  members  in 
case  of  disfellowshipment,  ex- 
communication 

b.  Minor  transgressions,  confessed 
and  forgiven,  not  to  be  recorded 

1.  Wrong  privately  known  to  be 
privately  confessed 

2.  Wrong  publicly  known  to  be 
publicly  confessed 

(a)  Before  weekly  Priesthood 
meeting 

(b)  Before  monthly  fast  meet- 
ing 

3.  Leniency  desirable  when  too 
severe  action  may  defeat  the 
ends  of  justice:  the  case  of 
young  people. 

Problems  and  projects: 

1.  Call  for  original  and  frank  criticism  of 
the  Church  judicial  system  as  so  far  dis- 
cussed: its  scope,  its  personnel,  its  purposes. 

2.  Differentiate  between  the  citation  and 
the  complain t-and -summons. 

3.  To  test  how  well  members  of  the  class 
visualize  the  procedure  of  the  Ward  Bish- 


op's Court,  call  on  several  of  them  to  recite, 
in  outline  fashion,  the  step-by-step  progress 
of  a  case  from  the  time  the  complaint  is 
drawn  up  to  the  time  the  decision  is  ren- 
dered. Guesses,  hazy  thinking,  and  half- 
statements  have  no  place  here.  The  picture 
must  be  complete  and  correct. 

4.  What  is  meant  by  action  so  severe  it 
may  "defeat  the  ends  of  justice"?  Give  ex- 
amples when  judicious  leniency  may  prove 
the  salvation  of  the  wrongdoer. 


Supplementary  Readings 

For  Priesthood  and  Church  Government 


1.  Any  member  of  the  church  of  Christ 
transgressing,  or  being  overtaken  in  a  fault, 
shall  be  dealt  with  as  the  scriptures  direct. 
{Doc.  and  Cop.  20:80.) 

2.  And  him  that  repenteth  not  of  his  sins, 
and  confesseth  them  not,  ye  shall  bring  be- 
fore the  church,  and  do  with  him  as  the 
scripture  saith  unto  you,  either  by  com- 
mandment or  by  revelation.  (Doc.  and 
Cov.  64:12.) 

3.  Behold,  I,  the  Lord,  have  made  my 
church  in  these  last  days  like  unto  a  judge 
sitting  on  a  hill,  or  in  a  high  place,  to 
judge  the  nations. 

For  it  shall  come  to  pas  that  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Zion  shall  judge  all  things  pertain- 
ing to  Zion. 

And  liars  and  hypocrites  shall  be  proved 
by  them,  and  they  who  are  not  apostles 
and  prophets  shall  be  known. 

And  even  the  bishop,  who  is  a  judge, 
and  his  counselors,  if  they  are  not  faithful 
in  their  stewardship  shall  be  condemned, 
and  others  shall  be  planted  in  their  stead. 
(Doc.  and  Cov.  64:37-40.) 

4.  Moreover,  if  thy  brother  shall  trespass 
against  thee,  go  and  tell  him  his  fault  be- 
tween thee  and  him  alone:  if  he  shall  hear 
thee,  thou  hast  gained  thy  brother.  But  if 
he  will  not  hear  thee,  then  take  with  thee 
one  or  two  more,  that  in  the  mouth  of 
two  or  three  witnesses  every  word  may  be 
established.  And  if  he  shall  neglect  to  hear 
them,  tell  it  unto  the  church:  but  if  he 
neglect  to  hear  the  church,  let  him  be  unto 
thee  as  an  heathen  man  and  a  publican. 
(Matthew  18:15-17.) 

5.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  if  any 
persons  among  you  shall  kill  they  shall  be 
delivered  up  and  dealt  with  according  to 
the  laws  of  the  land;  for  remember  that  he 
hath  no  forgiveness;  and  it  shall  be  proved 
according  to  the  laws  of  the  land.  (Doc. 
and  Cov.  42:79.) 

6.  And  if  a  man  or  woman  shall  rob,  he 
or  she  shall  be  delivered  up  unto  the  law  of 
the  land. 

And  if  he  or  she  shall  steal  he  or  she  shall 
be  delivered  up  unto  the  law  of  the  land. 

And  if  he  or  she  shall  lie,  he  or  she  shall 
be  delivered  up  unto  the  law  of  the  land. 

And  if  he  or  she  do  any  manner  of  in- 
iquity, he  or  she  shall  be  delivered  up  unto 
the  law,  even  that  of  God.  (Doc.  and  Cov. 
42:84-87.) 

7.  I  charged  the  Saints  not  to  follow  the 
example  of  the  adversary  in  accusing  the 
brethren,  and  said,  "If  you  do  not  accuse 
each  other,  God  will  not  accuse  you.  If 
you  have  no  accuser  you  will  enter  heaven, 
and  if  you  will  follow  the  revelations  and 
instructions  which  God  gives  you  through 
me,  I  will  take  you  into  heaven  as  my  back 
load.  If  you  will  not  accuse  me,  I  will  not 
accuse  you.  If  you  will  throw  a  cloak  of 
charity  over  my  sins,  I  will  over  yours — for 
charity  covereth  a  multitude  of  sins.  What 
many  people  call  sin  is  not  sin;  I  do  many 
things  to  break  down  superstition,  and  I 
will  break  it  down."  (Teachings  of  Joseph 
Smith,  p.  193.) 

4\ 


ELF12 


■BaranlcTrlesffiooH 


CONDUCTED  UNDER  THE  SUPERVISION   OF  THE  PRESIDING   BISHOPRIC- — EDITED   BY  JOHN   D.    GILES 


THE  AARONIC  PRIESTHOOD 

Tenth  in  a  series  of  articles  writ-' 
ten  by  the  late  Elder  Orson  F. 
Whitney  of  the  Council  of  the 
Twelve.  Published  originally  in 
"The  Contributor." 

/^\NE  of  the  earliest  acts  of  King  Saul's 
^-^  career  was  the  usurpation  of  the 
priestly  authority.  He  had  seen  with 
a  jealous  eye  that,  although  he  held  the 
title  of  king,  and  went  out  and  came 
in  with  royal  pomp,  Samuel  continued 
to  be  the  real  ruler  in  Israel,  and  re- 
garded him  in  the  light  of  a  mere  mili- 
tary chieftain  and  subordinate.  Though 
humble  at  first,  and  submissive  to  this 
state  of  affairs,  his  naturally  proud  and 
combative  spirit  could  ill  brook  re- 
straint and  limitation.  He  longed  for 
power  absolute,  like  that  of  the  mon- 
archs  of  other  nations,  to  reign  without 
a  rival;  and  it  was  evident  he  only 
waited  a  favorable  opportunity  to  set 
aside  Samuel's  authority,  and  vest  the 
sacerdotal  power  in  his  own  person. 

To  such  an  honor,  Saul  had  not  the 
shadow  of  a  claim.  As  the  reader  is 
aware,  the  sacred  offices  inhered  only 
in  the  house  of  Aaron  and  the  tribe  of 
Levi,  and  Saul,  as  has  been  shown, 
was  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin.  Samuel, 
though  not  a  descendant  of  Aaron,  was 
closely  related  to  him,  and  held  the  of- 
fice of  High  Priest  by  divine  appoint- 
ment, the  first  known  instance  of  its 
deviation  from  the  direct  family  line 
of  the  original.  Saul's  act  was  one  of 
sacrilege,  entirely  inexcusable;  and  thus 
did  he  begin  to  fulfill  Samuel's  proph- 
ecy in  relation  to  kingly  tyranny,  and 
pave  the  way  to  his  own  downfall. 

The  armies  of  Israel  were  at  Gilgal, 
facing  an  overwhelming  host  of  Philistines, 
which  had  come  to  avenge  the  destruction 
by  Saul  of  one  of  their  garrisons.  The 
king  had  sent  for  Samuel  to  join  him  at 
Gilgal  and  offer  sacrifice  for  Israel  before 
they  engaged  the  enemy,  as  considerable 
trepidation  was  felt  in  the  presence  of  such 
a  powerful  foe.  After  waiting  seven  days, 
and  the  High  Priest  failing  to  appear,  Saul 
became  impatient,  and  alarmed  at  the  daily 
desertions  of  his  troops,  finally  ordered  a 
burnt  offering  to  be  brought,  and  having 
built  an  altar,  officiated  in  the  sacred  cere- 
mony himself.  He  had  no  sooner  finished 
than  Samuel  arrived  upon  the  scene.  He 
sternly  rebuked  the  king  for  his  sacrilege, 
and  told  him  the  Lord  would  recompense 
the  evil  he  had  wrought  by  taking  away 
the  kingdom  from  his  house,  which  might 
have  stood  forever,  and  giving  it  to  an- 
other, "a  man  after  His  own  heart,"  who 
should  be  the  "captain  over  His  people." 

A  few  years  later  the  estrangement  be- 
tween the  king  and  the  Prophet  was  made 
complete  by  another  act  of  disobedience  on 
the  part  of  the  former.  He  had  been  com- 
manded by  Samuel,  speaking  as  God's 
oracle,  to  undertake  a  war  of  extermina- 
tion against  the  Amalekites,  a  wicked  na- 

42 


tion  and  the  inveterate  foe  of  Israel,  and 
was  told  to  spare  neither  man  nor  beast, 
nor  save  a  particle  of  spoil.  Instead  of 
carrying  out  these  instructions,  the  self- 
willed  monarch  spared  Agag,  king  of  the 
Amalekites,  and  brought  him  alive  after 
annihilating  his  forces,  to  Gilgal,  together 
with  the  choicest  of  the  enemy's  cattle  and 
sheep,  which  he  designed  as  a  sacrifice  to 
Jehovah.  So  far  from  this  appeasing  Sam- 
uel, the  effect  was  quite  the  reverse.  In 
righteous  anger,  he  again  reproved  the 
king,  reminding  him  that  "to  obey  is  better 
than  sacrifice,  and  to  hearken  than  the  fat 
of  rams,"  and  ended  by  telling  him,  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  that  he  was  utterly  re- 
jected as  king  from  that  hour.  He  relented 
sufficiently,  at  Saul's  earnest  entreaty,  to 
remain  and  offer  sacrifice  to  God  in  honor 
of  the  victory,  which  being  done,  he  called 
for  the  captive  monarch,  Agag,  to  be 
brought,  and  on  his  appearing,  seized  a 
sword  and  hewed  him  in  pieces  before  the 
eyes  of  Saul  and  all  his  hosts.  The  Prophet 
then  departed,  and  all  intercourse  between 
him  and  the  king  was  at  an  end. 

Samuel  next  proceeded  to  Bethlehem,  by 
the  Lord's  direction,  and  anointed  David, 
the  youngest  son  of  Jesse,  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah,  to  be  the  future  king  of  Israel.  This 
was  about  the  year  1079  B.  C.  The  cere- 
mony was  performed  in  secret,  lest  Saul, 
hearing  of  it,  might  wreak  vengeance  upon 
the  principals.  As  it  was,  no  sooner  had 
David  slain  the  Philistine  giant,  and  all 
Israel  was  ringing  with  the  fame  of  his 
exploit,  than  the  king's  jealousy  was 
aroused,  and  he  began  to  see  in  the  brave 


and  gifted  son  of  Jesse  the  "man  after 
God's  own  heart,"  of  whom  the  Prophet 
Samuel  had  spoken.  This  thought  so  prey- 
ed upon  his  mind  that,  after  giving  David 
his  daughter  Michal  to  wife,  loving  and 
treating  him  as  his  own  son,  and  having 
him  constantly  near  his  person,  he  drove 
him  forth  in  a  violent  passion  and  thence- 
forth exerted  every  effort  to  destroy  him. 
David,  on  account  of  his  relationship  with 
the  king,  his  love  for  his  brother-in-law 
Jonathan,  but,  more  than  all,  his  religious 
reverence  for  the  "Lord's  anointed," 
though  he  had  Saul  repeatedly  in  his  pow- 
er, spared  his  life  and  would  not  permit 
him  to  be  injured.  He  first  fled  to  Samuel 
at  Ramah,  and  thence  with  the  Prophet  to 
Naioth,  but  finally  became  the  leader  of 
a  band  of  outlaws  in  the  wilderness  of 
Judea. 

Before  David  came  to  the  throne  and 
while  yet  a  fugitive  from  the  wrath  of  his 
royal  father-in-law,  Samuel  died  at  Ramah, 
at  an  advanced  age,  B.  C.  about  1061.  His 
death  was  sincerely  mourned  throughout 
Israel,  and  his  righteous  example  was  writ- 
ten imperishably  in  the  hearts  and  history 
of  his  people.  The  Bible  relates  that  Saul, 
on  the  eve  of  his  last  battle,  having  failed 
to  obtain  an  answer  from  the  Lord  through 
the  divine  channel  of  the  Priesthood,  in 
desperation  sought  out  a  witch,  at  Endor, 
through  whose  exorcism  the  spirit  of  Sam- 
uel appeared  and  pronounced  upon  the 
head  of  the  recreant  monarch  the  defeat 
and  disaster  which  befell  him  on  the  mor- 


row. 


{To  be  continued) 


WEISER  STAKE  AARONIC  PRIESTHOOD  CHORUS 

"Dishop  Marvin  O.  Ashton  of  the  Presiding  Bishopric  represented  the  General 
Authorities  of  the  Church  at  the  recent  quarterly  conference  of  the  Weiser 
Stake  in  Weiser,  Idaho.  Bishop  Ashton's  report  of  the  conference  was  high- 
lighted by  his  enthusiasm  for  the  splendid  singing  furnished  for  the  conference 
by  the  Stake  Aaronic  Priesthood  chorus  of  forty-two  young  men.  The  chorus 
was  directed  by  Oscar  B.  Nielson,  with  Vivian  Anderson  as  accompanist. 

The  stake  presidency  has  already  reported  that,  as  a  result  of  the  fine  work 
of  these  young  men,  two  wards  are  now  determined  to  have  an  Aaronic  Priest- 
hood chorus. 


Effects  of  Tea  and  Coffee 
on  the  Heart  and  Kidneys 

Excerpts  from  the  Thesis  of 
Sheldon  Ross  Hunt 

"Deferring  to  these  beverages  as  a 
A^-  cause  of  high  blood  pressure,  Dr. 
Eugene  Lyman  Fiske  says: 


The  fact  that  coffee,  in  doses  sufficient 
to  produce  any  stimulating  effects,  raises 
blood  pressure  and  stimulates  the  action  of 
the  kidneys,  is  also  good  reason  for  using 
it  with  caution  in  these  days  of  arterial 
strain  and  tendency  to  kidney  affection. 
Nowadays,  drugs  that  act  on  the  kidneys 
are  used  with  great  caution.      Instead  of 


SUlanTTe  aching 


CONDUCTED  UNDER  THE  SUPERVISION   OF  THE  PRESIDING   BISHOPRIC — EDITED    BY  JOHN   D.    GILES 


WARD  TEACHERS 

And  if  any  man  among  you  be  strong  in  the  Spirit,  let  him  take  with  him  him  that 
is  weak,  that  he  may  be  edified  in  all  meekness,  that  he  may  become  strong 
also. 

Therefore,  take  with  you  those  who  are  ordained  unto  the  lesser  priesthood.  .  . 

(Doc.  and  Cov.,  84:106,  107.) 

Suggestions  For  Ward  Teachers 

Teachers  should  be  actively  interested  in  their  people.  They  should 
visit  them  in  times  of  illness  and  death.  They  should  be  aware  of  the 
spiritual,  physical,  and  temporal  status  of  their  people  to  such  an  extent 
that  distress  and  want  may  be  reported  at  once,  and  appropriate  assistance 
to  the  worthy  be  provided  without  delay. 

In  keeping  with  the  duties  assigned  to  teachers  by  Revelations,  it  is 
highly  appropriate,  where  making  a  formal  visit,  to  ask  each  member  of 
the  family  questions  containing  the  following  import: 

1.  Are  you  in  harmony — 

a.  With  your  neighbors  and  associates? 

b.  With  ward,  stake,  and  General  Authorities  of  the  Church? 

2.  Are  you  attending  to  your  Church  duties — 

a.  As  a  member 

Attending   meeting,   fasting  once   each  month   in   paying    Fast  offering, 
paying  tithing,  and  participating  in  ward  social  functions? 

b.  As  an  officer 

Setting  proper  example,  attending  council  meetings,  etc.? 

3.  Are  you  attending  to  secret  and  family  prayers? 

WwixL  Jsuach&M!.  TyioA&jaqsL  fcfo  JsziAuaAy,  J94J 

FASTING  AND  OFFERINGS 

T  A  recent  general  conference,  Elder  George  F.  Richards  of  the  Council 
of  the  Twelve  presented  the  following:  "Fasting  and  offerings  have 
been  associated  closely  always.  I  will  read  to  you  a  few  words  from 
Isaiah  on  this  subject.  He  goes  on  to  tell  that  the  people's  fasting  was  not 
acceptable  and  tells  why.    Then  he  says: 

'  'Is  not  this  the  fast  that  I  have  chosen?  to  loose  the  bands  of  wickedness,  to 
undo  the  heavy  burdens,  and  to  let  the  oppressed  go  free,  and  that  ye  break  every 
yoke? 

'  'Is  it  not  to  deal  thy  bread  to  the  hungry,  and  that  thou  bring  the  poor  that 
are  cast  out  to  thy  house?  when  thou  seest  the  naked,  that  thou  cover  him;  and 
that  thou  hide  not  thyself  from  thine  own  flesh? 

'  'Then  shall  thy  light  break  forth  as  the  morning,  and  thine  health  shall  spring 
forth  speedily;  and  thy  righteous  shall  go  before  thee;  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall 
be  thy  reward. 

'  'Then  shalt  thou  call,  and  the  Lord  shall  answer;  thou  shalt  cry,  and  He 
shall  say,  Here  I  am.' 

"The  offerings,  according  to  Isaiah,  are  naturally  a  part  of  the  fast,  and  help 
to  make  the  fast  acceptable  to  the  Lord.  We  ought  to  get  that  fixed  in  our  minds. 
"Tithes,  offerings,  and  fasting — a  restoration  in  these  days.  What  does  it  mean? 
In  the  early  rise  of  this  Church  there  was  established,  as  a  restoration,  this  principle 
of  fasting  and  giving  offerings  for  the  poor.  One  day  each  month  was  set  apart. 
The  members  of  the  Church  were  asked  to  abstain  from  eating  two  meals  of  the 
three  which  they  are  accustomed  to  having,  and  to  give  the  value  of  what  they 
would  save  by  the  fast,  for  the  support  of  the  poor.  If  we  had  observed  this  fully 
and  faithfully,  brethren  and  sisters,  there  would  have  been  ample  in  the  Church, 
from  that  fund  alone,  to  take  care  of  all  who  are  in  need  of  assistance." 

Every  Latter-day  Saint  family  should  resolve  to  observe  the  fast,  and 
pay  offerings  regularly. 


A 


youth  and  the  word  of  wisdom 


{ Concluded  from  page  42 ) 

spurring  the  kidney  with  drugs,  its  work 
is  regulated  by  proper  diet,  water  intake, 
etc.  A  recent  investigation  of  a  group  of 
one  thousand  cases  of  high  blood  pressure 
showed  that  excess  use  of  tea  and  coffee 


was  one  of  the  outstanding  factors  in  this 
group. 

This  is  something  worth  thinking 
about  in  these  days  of  the  high  mor- 
tality from  heart  disease.  Deaths  from 
heart  failure  are  more  common  than 


deaths  from  any  other  disease.  There 
is  a  reason.  Practically  every  case  of 
this  kind,  it  may  be  observed,  was  a 
user  of  stimulants  of  some  kind. 

The  principal  drug  effects  in  both  tea 
and  coffee  are  derived  from  caffeine. 
A  cup  of  moderately  strong  coffee  con- 
tains about  three  grains  of  caffeine,  an 
ordinary  cup  of  tea  a  little  less.  Now, 
if  caffeine  were  the  only  toxic  principle 
contained  in  coffee,  the  effects  of  tea 
and  coffee  would  be  identical.  But  cof- 
fee contains  some  essentials  and  vola- 
tile oils  known  as  coffeol  and  caffetanic 
acid,  which  are  also  injurious.  Some  of 
the  unwelcome  symptoms  are  due  to 
these.  Dr.  Hale  Powers  of  the  neuro- 
logical department  of  the  Massachusetts 
General  Hospital  found  that  some  of 
these  symptoms  cleared  up  when  cof- 
fee was  replaced  by  tea.  He  called 
attention  to  the  fact  that  symptoms  of 
coffee  poisoning,  not  attributable  to 
caffeine,  are  produced  by  these  volatile 
substances  which  really  give  the  aroma 
to  the  finer  grades  of  coffee.  He  is  in- 
clined to  believe  that  the  so-called  bet- 
ter grades  are  the  more  poisonous, 
since  they  contain  more  of  these  vo- 
latile oils.  These  volatile  substances  are 
partly  eliminated  by  boiling;  hence,  he 
thinks  that  a  cheap  coffee  being  well 
boiled  is  less  toxic  than  an  expensive 
cup  prepared  without  boiling.  There  is 
much  said  in  these  days  about  caffeine, 
but  altogether  too  little  about  coffee. 
Not  merely  should  we  abstain  from  the 
use  of  caffeine,  but  from  the  use  of 
coffee,  even  if  free  from  caffeine.  Caf- 
feineless  coffee  canot  be  regarded  as  a 
harmless  beverage  by  any  means,  since 
some  of  the  symptoms  arising  from  the 
use  of  coffee  are  not  due  to  the  caffeine, 
but  to  the  volatile  oils  present. 

Coffee  makes  its  user  irritable.  Dr. 
Bock  of  Leipzig,  Germany,  investigated 
the  diseases  of  the  higher  classes  of 
German  society  and  attributed  their  ir- 
ritability and  quick  temper  to  the  free 
use  of  coffee.  It  is  useless  for  coffee 
addicts  to  pray  for  the  grace  of  good 

temper  unless  they  are  willing  to  re- 
move the  cause  of  their  irritability  and 
quick  temper. 

FOREST  FIRES  AND 
CIGARETTES 

According  to  the  National  Voice, 
**  Roy  Headley,  Chief  of  Division 
Fire  Control,  U.  S.  Forest  Service,  re- 
ported that  during  1938  there  were 
172,000  forest  fires  in  the  United 
States,  42,857  of  which  were  caused 
by  cigarette  smokers.  The  loss  due  to 
these  smokers  was  estimated  at  $11,- 
240,000. 

43 


JQ0 


ge 


enealoqu 


JOSEPH  FIELDING  SMITH, 

President  and  Treasurer. 

JOSEPH   CHRISTENSON, 
Vice    President. 

ARCHIBALD  F.  BENNETT, 

Secretary  and  Librarian. 


OFFICERS  AND  DIRECTORS  OF  THE  GENEALOGICAL  SOCIETY  OF  UTAH 


JOHN  A.  WIDTSOE, 
A.   WILLIAM  LUND, 
JAMES  M.  KIRKHAM, 
MARK  E.  PETERSEN. 
Directors. 


HAROLD   J.  KIRBY, 

Assistant  Secretary. 
L.  GARRETT  MYERS,    ' 

Assistant  Treasurer  and  Superintendent 

of  Research  Department. 
ELLEN    HILL, 

Assistant  Librarian. 


RECORD  PROVIDENTIALLY 
OBTAINED 

By  Hubert  E.  Bowen,  Ogden,  Utah 

TTH'ith  a  great  deal  of  joy  and  thank- 
fulness to  my  Father  in  Heaven  I 
relate  one  of  the  most  remarkable  ex- 
periences I  have  had  in  obtaining 
genealogy  of  my  Bowen  families. 

I  have  spent  many  years  in  research 
and  on  some  of  my  lines  have  hired 
genealogists  without  a  great  deal  of  suc- 
cess. After  searching  many  hundreds 
of  books  and  also  hiring  others 
searched,  I  decided  to  go  to  the  Lord 
in  prayer.  I  prayed  for  the  way  to  be 
opened  for  me  to  gather  Bowen  records. 
That  night  I  had  a  dream.  In  this 
dream  I  felt  impressed  that  I  should 
write  to  the  mayor  of  a  certain  city  in 
Vermont.  The  next  morning  I  wrote 
the  letter.  Not  knowing  the  mayor's 
name,  I  just  addressed  it  to  the  mayor 
of  that  city.  I  asked  him  if  he  knew 
of  any  Bowen  families  living  in  his 
community  or  the  descendants  of  any 
to  whom  I  could  write,  as  I  was  compil- 
ing a  record  of  the  Bowen  families  and 
trying  to  trace  the  genealogy  and  fam- 
ily history  of  the  many  lines  back  to 
the  original  or  Puritan  ancestor. 

The  mayor  replied,  giving  me  a  list 
of  about  ten  names.  Near  the  bottom  of 
this  list  was  the  name  of  one  Bertha 
McDaniels  of  East  Dorset.  A  strong 
impression  came  to  me  to  write  to  her. 
Immediately  I  wrote  to  her.  She  sent 
in  return  a  record  of  her  own  immediate 
family.  Then  I  sent  her  family  group 
sheets  and  asked  for  the  record  of  her 
parents,  grandparents,  and  ancestors  as 
far  as  she  had  them.  This  she  sent  me. 
I  was  so  amazed  to  find  that  she  had 
such  a  marvelous  record  that  I  asked 
her  how  it  was  that  she  had  in  her 
possession  such  a  wonderful  genealogy 
and  facts  going  into  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries  not  in  possession 
of  any  of  the  Bowen  genealogists.  This 
was  her  story: 

When  Bertha  was  a  little  girl,  her 
mother,  who  has  now  been  dead  over 
forty  years,  called  her  to  her  side  and 
gave  her  some  genealogy  and  old 
papers,  and  told  her  to  keep  them,  say- 
ing that  this  was  the  genealogy  of  her 
people,  and  when  the  right  man  called 
for  it  she  was  to  give  it  to  him.  In  her 
letter  to  me  she  said,  "I  suppose  you 
must  be  that  man."  She  related  how 
her  grandmother  when  she  was  over 
eighty  years  old  had  given  this  same 
44 


genealogy  to  her  mother,  and  told  her 
to  keep  it,  as  it  was  the  record  of  her 
people  and  would  some  day  prove 
valuable. 

The  genealogical  record  this  lady 
sent  me  proved  to  be  the  only  known 
record  so  far  uncovered  by  genealogists 
in  America  tracing  an  unbroken  pedi- 
gree back  to  Richard  Bowen,  the  emi- 
grant, who  came  to  America  and  settled 
in  Rehoboth  about  1638.  This  record 
has  given  to  me  more  complete  gene- 
alogy than  I  have  been  able  to  find  in 
all  my  research,  and  more  than  I  had 
been  able  to  obtain  by  hiring  gene- 
alogists to  search  for  me.  I  thank  the 
Lord  for  this  marvelous  manifestation 
of  His  goodness  to  me  and  the  remark- 
able preservation  of  these  records. 

Another  thing  happened  in  regard  to 
these  records.  I  requested  this  lady  to 
lend  me  these  old  copies  that  I  might 
have  them  photographed  for  my  own 
book,  and  also  make  a  copy  for  the 
Genealogical  Library  in  Salt  Lake  City. 
She  wrote  that  she  was  going  to  leave 
Vermont  and  come  out  to  northern 
Idaho  where  her  sister  lived,  and  she 
would  come  by  way  of  Salt  Lake  and 
Ogden  and  bring  the  records  that  I 
might  see  and  photograph  them. 

Recently  she  came  to  my  home  in 
Ogden,  but  upon  arriving  there  inform- 
ed me  that  she  had  forgotten  the  rec- 
ords which  she  had  promised  to  bring. 
This,  of  course,  caused  me  some  con- 
cern, and  I  regretted  that  I  would  not 
get  to  see  them.  However,  she  told  me 
that  she  would  write  to  her  people  back 
in  Vermont  and  have  them  send  the 
records  to  me. 

She  wrote  to  one  of  her  relatives  who 
lived  near  her  house,  but  he  failed  to 
get  the  records.  Upon  my  informing 
her  that  I  had  not  received  them,  she 
wrote  a  friend  of  hers,  asking  him  to 
go  into  her  house  and  get  these  old 
records  and  send  them  to  me.  This  he 
did.  But  instead  of  getting  just  the 
one  record  on  the  Bowen  line  which 
I  was  supposed  to  receive,  he  sent  a 
large  bundle  of  genealogical  records. 
These  have  given  a  more  complete  and 
thorough  knowledge  and  genealogy  of 
some  of  the  branches  of  the  Bowen 
family  than  I  would  have  received  if 
Mrs.  McDaniels  had  herself  brought 
the  papers  with  her.  Also  in  this  group 
of  genealogy  there  came  to  me  the  gen- 
ealogy of  two  other  family  lines.  For 
these  providential  circumstances  I  am 
very  grateful. 


TOLERANCE 

By  George  A.  Baker 

Of  the  South  Los  Angeles 
Stake  Presidency 

One  of  the  greatest  lessons  taught 
by  the  Savior  to  the  peoples  of 
His  time  was  that  of  tolerance. 
When  the  woman  who  had  commit- 
ted a  crime  then  punishable  by  death 
was  brought  to  the  Master  by  the  mob, 
no  doubt  with  a  view  to  ensnare  Him, 
He  stifled  their  jeers  and  taunts  by  that 
memorable  declaration:  "Let  him  who 
is  without  sin  cast  the  first  stone."  At 
the  same  time,  He  did  not  condone  what 
the  unfortunate  victim  had  done,  for 
He  said,  "Go  thy  way  and  sin  no 
more." 

All  too  frequently,  individuals  call 
the  attention  of  others  to  faults  of  those 
who  may  be  teaching  or  doing  other 
work  in  the  Church,  such  faults  as 
smoking,  harshness  of  expression, 
aloofness,  sarcastic  tendencies,  improp- 
er or  untidy  appearance,  irregular  at- 
tendance at  Sacrament  or  quorum 
meetings,  etc.  And  yet  these  same  com- 
plainants in  many  instances  are  known 
not  to  have  their  names  on  the  tithing 
records  or  fail  to  contribute  Fast  offer- 
ings, and  to  conform  to  other  require- 
ments. Surely  they  can  ill  afford  to 
"cast  stones." 

Naturally,  the  ideal  condition  is  to 
have  all  Church  workers,  even  in  the 
most  minor  positions,  live  up  to  every 
letter  of  our  Church  standards,  but  we 
must  be  sympathetic  and  helpful  to 
those  few  who  do  not  fully  qualify.  To 
completely  deprive  such  individuals  of 
all  Church  activity  is  to  mar  their  spir- 
itual development — for  "spirituality  is 
an  achievement— not  an  endowment." 
Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  equally 
wrong  to  adopt  an  attitude  drawing 
near  to  that  of  indulgence. 

The  true  approach  to  this  ever-exist- 
ent problem  is  one  of  sincere  tolerance, 
coupled  with  friendly  help  to  change 
for  the  better  those  who  may  be  erring. 
For  remember,  the  Lord  has  said,  "I 
will  forgive  whom  I  will  forgive,  but 
of  you  it  is  required  to  forgive  all 
men." 


CHURCH-WIDE  HYMN  PROJECT 

Hymns  for  the  Months  of 

January,  February,  and 

March 

Comments  on  the  Hymns  by 

Dr.  Frank  W.  Asper 

Hymn  No.  362,  "I'll  Go  Where 
You  Want  Me  To  Go." 
'T'he  common  error  in  the  playing  of 
this  number  is  that  of  not  observing 
the  correct  rhythm.  The  writer  has 
heard  this  played  hundreds  of  times  in 
his  classes,  and  until  the  performer's 
attention  is  called  to  it,  almost  everyone 
plays  the  rhythm  wrong.  Be  sure  to 
hold  the  last  note  in  every  line  its  full 
value.  There  is  always  a  tendency  to 
shorten  these  notes,  as  the  motion  that 
was  present  in  the  preceding  measures, 
stops.  The  organist  will  find  that  many 
directors  will  not  beat  these  measures 
out,  however,  in  which  case  it  is  always 
best  to  follow  the  man  who  is  directing. 

Hymn  No.  87,  "Softly  Beams  the 
Sacred  Dawning." 

The  very  nature  of  this  hymn  de- 
mands a  strict  legato  touch.  Happily 
the  composer  has  put  a  rest  at  the  end 
of  all  phrases  but  one,  and  if  the  time 
values  are  observed,  there  will  be  no 
trouble  in  punctuating  the  number  cor- 
rectly. Do  not  play  the  number  in 
flats.  To  do  so  robs  it  of  its  brilliancy, 
and  makes  it  much  more  difficult  for  the 
singers  to  stay  on  pitch,  besides  going 
against  the  composer's  intention  and 
conception. 
Hymn  No.  91,  "Sweet  is  the  Work." 

This  hymn  also  appears  in  the  Des* 
eret  Sunday  School  Song  Book,  in  the 
key  of  A  flat,  but  the  key  of  G  in  the 
L.  D.  S.  Hymns  is  to  be  preferred,  as 
the  highest  note  in  this  copy  is  the  one 
that  the  average  congregation  can  best 
reach.  Here  is  a  chance  to  play  with 
good  expression,  as  the  whole  hymn 
seems  to  cry  out  for  musical  interpre- 
tation. Follow  the  marks  as  they  are  in 
the  copy.  On  the  second  line  do  not 
hesitate  to  take  the  tenor  notes  with 
the  right  hand,  if  playing  the  reed  or- 
gan, as  the  stretches  between  the  tenor 
and  bass  are  much  too  far  for  the  or- 
dinary hand. 

The  Story  of  One  Organ 

By  Dr.  Frank  W.  Asper 

"Cor  many  years  the  members  of  the 
-*-  Mill  Creek  Ward  wanted  to  have  a 
pipe  organ,  and  the  story  of  how  they 
finally  obtained  one  is  worthy  of  telling. 
Mill  Creek  Ward  has  no  wealthy 
people;  nearly  all  heads  of  families  there 
■earn  less  than  a  thousand  dollars  a  year. 
The  land  was  originally  devoted  to 
farming,  but  much  of  it  was  divided 
up  into  small  plots  through  divi- 
sion of  estates,  and  most  of  the  people 
now  have  a  small  piece  of  ground  on 
which  they  can  raise  vegetables  for 
themselves  and  their  families.     Those 


who  do  have  jobs  work  for  small  wages 
and  have  positions  which  are  not 
steady.  The  ward  also  has  its  share  of 
people  on  relief. 

As  is  the  case  in  any  project,  be  it 
worthy  or  unworthy,  there  were  some 
members  of  the  ward  opposed  to  the 
idea  of  having  a  pipe  organ  in  the 
chapel.  It  is  impossible  to  have  the  sup- 
port of  all  people  in  any  undertaking, 
and  many  arguments  were  used  by 
some  to  try  to  dissuade  the  bishop, 
Alma  Cornwall,  from  his  adopted  ideal. 
Many  thought  that  another  organ  could 
be  purchased  which  would  be  "just  as 
good,"  and  that  to  install  a  pipe  organ 
would  necessitate  some  changes  in  the 
building  which  they  felt  they  could  not 
afford.  Bishop  Cornwall  was  firmly 
convinced  that  once  the  pipe  organ  was 
installed,  the  people  would  see  the 
great  value  of  it  and  would  never  re- 
gret any  work  which  they  might  have 
undertaken  in  order  to  have  one,  al- 
though now  he  says  that  it  was  one  of 
the  hardest  projects  in  his  career. 

All  of  the  organizations  pledged 
themselves  to  support  the  bishop.  The 
children  of  the  Primary  contributed 
pennies,  and  the  heads  of  the  families 
were  asked  to  contribute  one  to  two 
dollars  each,  but  many  voluntarily  paid 
much  more  than  that.  A  man  in  the 
ward  had  some  land  idle  and  offered 
to  donate  three  acres  for  one  year  if 
the  ward  cared  to  use  it.  The  Aaronic 
Priesthood  quorums,  consisting  of 
about  forty  boys,  immediately  accepted 
this  offer  and  planted  the  three  acres 
in  sugar  beets.  They  borrowed  the 
money  for  seed  and  phosphate  and 
managed  to  get  a  drill  man  to  come 
and  donate  his  labor.  Later  in  the 
spring  all  the  boys  met  and  spent  two 
days  thinning  the  beets.  They  took 
turns  in  irrigating  the  land,  and  on  two 
Saturdays  in  October,  when  they  were 
not  in  school,  they  again  met  and  top- 
ped the  beets.  Some  of  the  older  men 
with  teams  and  trucks  gave  a  helping 
hand,  and  they  were  able  to  harvest 
and  ship  them.  The  net  profit  of  the 
project  was  three  hundred  dollars.  The 
boys  relate  what  a  fine  way  it  was  to 
get  acquainted  with  each  other;  one  of 
them  said  it  was  much  better  than  go- 
ing out  on  a  picnic,  because  they  knew 
they  were  working  for  a  cause. 

In  order  to  install  the  organ  it  was 
necessary  to  dig  a  space  underneath 
the  floor  large  enough  for  the  motor  and 
blower,  and  it  was  necessary  to  make 
a  sound-proof,  insulated  booth  in  the 
chapel  for  the  organ  itself.  The  ward 
found  that  they  were  fortunate  in  hav- 
ing men  who  could  excavate,  plaster, 
do  carpenter  work,  tin  work,  and  elec- 
tric wiring,  and  all  of  this  work  was 
either  donated  or  done  by  those  on  re- 
lief at  a  saving  of  about  five  hundred 
dollars.  In  all,  the  ward  raised  over 
$2,200  for  their  fine  instrument.  All  feel 
now  that  it  was  done  without  hardship 
on  anyone,  besides  giving  the  members 


an  opportunity  to  become  more  closely 
associated  with  one  another  and  a 
chance  to  admire  each  other's  work. 

Thus,  when  the  organ  was  finally  pre- 
sented to  the  ward,  it  was  all  paid  for, 
and  there  were  no  headaches  from  try- 
ing to  raise  additional  funds.  One  in- 
fluential man  who  had  opposed  the  plan 
from  the  beginning  came  the  day  after 
it  was  dedicated  and  asked  the  privi- 
lege of  changing  his  mind  and  giving 
the  ward  a  substantial  donation.  The 
members  of  the  ward  are  all  thrilled 
with  the  organ  and  say  it  is  the  greatest 
improvement  they  have  had  since  the 
chapel  was  built.  Nothing  they  have 
ever  attempted  before  has  made  the 
people  feel  better.  Everyone  acknowl- 
edges that  it  was  one  of  the  finest 
things  that  could  be  done  to  make  the 
worship  of  the  ward  more  inviting. 

One  often  meets  Church  members 
who  continually  apologize  for  the  mu- 
sical instruments  in  their  wards,  when 
frequently  a  good  substantial  pipe  or- 
gan would  have  cost  very  little  more 
and  would  have  been  a  lasting  monu- 
ment to  their  ambition.  We  need  only 
to  look  about  us,  observe  local  condi- 
tions, and  act  accordingly.  Here  was  a 
ward  with  no  wealthy  men,  but  with 
people  with  relatively  small  incomes 
who  had  the  desire  and  ambition  to 
have  the  finest  instrument  within  their 
reach.  What  has  been  done  in  Mill 
Creek  Ward  can  certainly  be  done 
anywhere  in  the  Church.  All  we  need 
is  a  leader  with  the  enthusiasm  and  in- 
terest to  make  the  project  materialize. 

Ward  Choirs  Welcome 
Melodic  Easter  Cantata 

Among  the  many  cantatas  musical 
directors  will  be  thumbing  through 
in  preparation  for  Easter,  only  one  has 
been  written  by  a  Church  composer. 
It  is  the  melodic,  easily  sung  Resurrec 
tion  Morning  by  B.  Cecil  Gates,  whose 
specific  purpose  it  was  to  provide  beau- 
tiful music  which  could  be  sung  by 
either  large  or  small  groups  with  equal 
dramatic  effect. 

Arranged  for  choir  and  also  for 
three-part  ladies'  chorus,  the  thirty- 
minute  cantata,  whose  seven  numbers 
may  be  sung  separately  as  concert 
pieces  or  as  a  thematic  whole  joined 
by  recitatives,  had  its  first  public  audi- 
tion in  the  University  Ward  last  spring, 
when  it  was  sung  by  a  group  composed 
of  Lucy  Gates  Bo  wen,  Virginia  Freeze 
Barker,  Annette  Richardson  Din- 
woodey,  James  E.  Haslam,  and  P.  Mel- 
vin  Peterson,  with  Wade  N.  Stephens 
at  the  organ.  To  demonstrate  its  "sing- 
ability,"  the  composer  on  the  same  oc- 
casion presented  a  girls'  trio  of  young, 
untrained  voices,  who  sang  parts  of  the 
cantata  with  moving  effect.  Resurrec- 
tion Morning  has  since  found  wide  ac- 
ceptance. It  is  a  perennial  suggestion 
for  a  truly  spiritual  Easter-tide  observ- 
ance. 

45 


=53 


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n 


■UlutuaTlllessaqes 


•TZea/  'IjsuvA,  ^jAesdin^A. 


A 


S  WE  approach  the  new  year,  the  General  Superintendency  and  the  General  Presidency  of  the 

Young  Men's  and  Young  Women's  Mutual  Improvement  Associations  wish  to  extend 
our  hearty  good  wishes  through  the  season's  greetings  and  our  heartfelt  thanks  to  all  the  Mutual 
officers  and  teachers  who  have  made  this  great  Church  program  effective  in  teaching  the  Gos- 
pel of  Jesus  Christ.  Wholesome  activity  makes  for  growth  in  the  testimonies  of  Mutual  mem- 
bers. We  congratulate  the  more  than  twenty-five  thousand  officers  and  leaders  of  the  Mutual 
Improvement  Associations  for  their  recognition  of  the  worth  of  the  activity  and  for  their 
willingness  to  carry  this  program  forward. 

The  promise  of  the  new  year  lies  ahead.  With  its  dreams  and  its  hopes,  it  stretches  in 
unbroken  beauty  before  us.  As  we  enter  into  that  new  year,  let  us  give  thanks  for  the  year  that 
is  past,  for  its  efforts,  its  pleasures,  its  accomplishments.  Let  us  loot  at  the  year  which  has 
gone  for  its  lessons  of  forbearance,  charity,  and  high  endeavor.  Let  us  be  grateful  that  though 
we  accomplished  much,  the  joy  of  achievement  will  still  be  with  us  in  those  things  which  are 
yet  to  be  accomplished.  Let  us  call  consciously  to  mind  the  failures  and  mistakes  of  that  year 
through  which  we  learned  the  valuable  lessons  of  patience  and  perseverance. 

We  know  in  this  service  of  M.  I.  A.  you  have  found  happiness,  for  the  Lord  has  promised 
that  in  our  work  for  Him  we  shall  derive  lasting  joy. 

May  the  new  year  find  you  eager  to  continue  your  work  of  bringing  light  and  happiness 
to  those  you  lead  and  enduring  satisfaction  to  yourselves  as  leaders. 


% 


QP:  &<^Lx^db 


Y.  M.  M.  I.  A.  General  Superintendency. 


-Otsi^xs 


Y.  W.  M.  I.  A.  General  Presidency. 


"HANDCART  TRAILS" 
PRODUCED  BY 
COTTONWOOD  STAKE 

'"Phe  "desert  valley  of  the  mountains" 
is  endowed  with  a  rich  heritage  of 
true  pioneer  endeavor  and  unwavering 
faith.  The  trail  leading  to  the  valley 
also  whispers  heart-stirring  stories  of 
the  mounds  along  the  way.  It  was  on 
this  trail  that  the  M.  I.  A.  play,  Hand' 
cart  Trails,  by  Ruth  H.  Hale,  found  its 
birth  and  inspiration. 

Cottonwood  Stake  has  set  a  new 
standard  for  M.  I.  A.  drama  in  its  pres- 
entation of  this  pioneer  play.  All  the 
depth  and  feeling  intended  by  the  au- 
thor was  superbly  portrayed  by  the  out- 
standing cast  of  twenty  characters. 
The  real  success  of  the  play  was  proved 
by  the  record  capacity  audiences  in 
the  two-night  performance  schedule, 
November  22  and  23,  in  the  Murray 
First  Ward  recreational  hall. 

Warmest  congratulations  are  ex- 
tended to  the  many  people  who  made 
this  play  a  remarkable  accomplishment. 
Great  honor  goes  to  the  untiring  efforts 
of  the  director,  Mildred  M.  Wagstaff , 

46 


CAST  OF  "HANDCART  TRAILS" 
PRESENTED  AS  COTTONWOOD 
STAKE    M.     I.     A.    STANDARD 

DRAMA. 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,     JANUARY,     194  T 


Mutual  Messages 

of  the  Holladay  Ward,  and  her  assist- 
ant, Norma  P.  Woodruff.  Stage  sets 
and  lighting  were  accurately  executed 
by  Dick  Larsen.  Music,  costuming, 
advertising,  and  financing  were  con- 
ducted under  the  leadership  of  Hattie 
Nichols,  Martha  Facer,  Maxine  Thom- 
ason,  and  Marlow  Crabtree,  respec- 
tively. 

Cottonwood  Stake  sends  out  a  chal- 
lenge to  all  the  M.  I.  A.  to  make  Hand- 
cart Trails  a  milestone  in  Mutual  Im- 
provement! 

INGLEWOOD  AND  LOS 
ANGELES  STAKES  PLACE 
ON  CONVENTION  HONOR 
ROLL 

At  the  tri-stake  convention  held  in 
*"*  Los  Angeles,  September  22,  1940, 
Inglewood  Stake  with  77%  of  its  of- 
ficers in  attendance  at  the  meetings 
and  Los  Angeles  Stake  with  78%  of  its 
officers  attending  merited  special  at- 
tendance honors. 

What  other  stakes  deserve  a  like 
credit?  We  shall  be  glad  to  list  them 
in  the  Era.  As  was  announced  on  the 
convention  folder:  an  honor  roll  will 
be  published  giving  the  name  of  each 
stake  which  has  75%  or  more  of  its 
officers  in  attendance.  The  report  of 
the  two  stake  secretaries  will  be  ac- 
cepted as  official. 

Special  Interest 

George  H.  Hansen,  Marba  C.  Josephson,  chairmen; 
Aldon  J.  Anderson,  J.  Edwin  Nelson,  L.  L.  Daines, 
Richard  L.  Evans,  Alma  H.  Pettigrew,  Philo  T. 
Farnsworth,  Vella  H.  Wetzel,  Minnie  T.  Anderson, 
Angelyn  Warnick,   Katie  C.  Jensen. 

"Deports  of  success  from  the  Special 
■*■*■  Interest  classes  continue  to  pour 
into  the  M.  I.  A.  offices.  From  the 
California  Mission  reports  have  come 
of  the  enthusiasm  which  Special  Inter- 
est is  creating.  From  Liberty  Stake 
came  several  clever  mimeographed 
papers,  4  by  4^  inches  in  size.  The 
first  one  had  been  used  as  an  invita- 
tion to  join  the  class  with  a  list  of 
subjects  from  which  to  choose  the  one 
desired  for  study.  Several  of  these 
papers  had  been  used  to  indicate  the 
weekly  program.  One  had  a  sketch  of 
a  man  rubbing  his  chin  in  perplexity 
while  above  his  head  appeared  a  large 
question  mark.  The  subject  for  that 
evening's  discussion  was  "Are  Parents 
People?"  Other  invitations  had  clever 
sketches  indicative  of  the  subjects  to 
be  discussed  or  the  opportunities  that 
lie  in  Special  Interest  work.  Another 
paper  had  been  used  to  remind  those 
who  had  been  absent.  This  had  a 
sketch  of  a  chair  with  the  words  ap- 
pearing by  the  side: 

Last  Tuesday  in  Mutual  your  chair  was 
empty.  We  discussed  the  important  topic, 
"What  Are  Families  For?"     Join  us  every 


Tuesday  in  the  Special  Interest  group  in 
Mutual  and  participate  in  further  discus- 
sions. 

Class  officers  using  these  up-to-the- 
minute  devices  are  assured  that  their 
classes  will  be  well-attended  and  greatly 
enjoyed.  We  know  that  as  well  as 
having  a  glorious  present,  the  Special 
Interest  groups  have  a  glorious  future 
ahead.  Be  on  the  alert  to  bring  in  new 
members  and  encourage  the  organiza- 
tion of  new  groups  whenever  pros- 
pective persons  are  available. 

HTfllen^jeaners 

— Oo "-" —■ — "~ "~ 

W.  Creed  Haymond,  Hazel  Brockbank,  chairmen; 
Wesley  P.  Lloyd,  Franklin  S.  Harris,  L.  A.  Stev- 
enson, Homer  C.  Warner,  Werner  Kiepe,  John  D. 
Giles,  Helena  Larson,  Florence  Pinnock,  Aurelia 
Bennion,  Marie  Waldram,  Katie  C.  Jensen. 

All  of  your  banquet  committees — 
T*  finance,  program,  decorations,  mu- 
sic, food,  etc. — are  now  working  busily 
for  the  coming  big  event.  Be  sure  to 
read  pages  161  to  163  in  your  Manual 
for  some  timely  suggestions.  It  is  a 
good  idea  to  confer  with  last  year's 
officers  in  order  to  understand,  in  ad- 
vance, problems  which  may  appear  and 
pitfalls  to  be  avoided  as  shown  by  pre- 
vious experience.  Try  to  keep  the  cost 
of  the  banquet  low,  for  it  is  important 
that  everyone  be  able  to  attend.  Think 
especially  of  the  extra  girls  and  try 
to  make  a  definite  place  for  them. 

Has  each  M  Man  and  Gleaner  in 
your  class  read  at  least  part  of  the 
New  Testament?  Charles  Dickens 
wrote  to  his  son: 

I  put  a  New  Testament  in  your  books 
because  it  is  the  best  book  that  ever  was  or 
ever  will  be  known  in  the  world,  and  be- 
cause it  teaches  you  the  best  lessons  by 
which  any  human  creature  who  tries  to  be 
truthful  and  faithful  to  duty  can  possibly 
be  guided. 

Daniel  Webster  said: 

If  we  abide  by  the  principles  taught 
in  the  Bible,  our  country  will  go  on  pros- 
pering, but  if  we  and  our  posterity  neglect 
its  instructions  and  authority,  no  man  can 
tell  how  sudden  a  catastrophe  may  over- 
whelm us  and  bury  all  of  our  glory  in  pro- 
found obscurity. 

Passages  to  memorize  this  month 
are: 

Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said, 
Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  and  hate  thine 


enemy:  But  I  say  unto  you,  Love  your 
enemies,  bless  them  that  curse  you,  and  pray 
for  them  which  despitefully  use  you,  and 
persecute  you;  ...  Be  ye  therefore  per- 
fect, even  as  your  Father  which  is  in 
heaven  is  perfect. — St.  Matthew  5:43-44,  48. 
For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave 
his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  be- 
lieveth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life. — St.  John  3:16. 

Several  hundred  Gleaner  Girls  are 
now  striving  to  achieve  their  Golden 
Gleaner  Girl  certificates.  This  is  a  new 
venture,  and  the  committee  realizes 
there  may  be  many  questions  about  it. 
Therefore,  when  you  need  help,  write 
to  the  Gleaner  Committee  in  care  of 
the  General  Board  of  Y.  W.  M.  I.  A., 
34  Bishop's  Building,  Salt  Lake  City, 
Utah,  and  a  reply  will  be  sent  promptly. 
There  are  available  in  this  same  office 
enough  complete  mimeographed  copies 
of  the  plan  so  that  each  ward  may  have 
one.  If  you  have  not  received  your 
copy,  ask  your  Gleaner  activity  super- 
visor in  your  stake  to  send  for  it. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  women  who 
have  been  very  active  in  Mutual  work 
but  were  not  in  Gleaner  class  long 
enough  to  complete  the  requirements 
will  not  be  able  to  qualify.  Rules  must 
be  rigidly  enforced  and  unless  all  re- 
quirements have  been  completed  in  the 
past  ( for  those  over  Gleaner  age )  and 
can  be  properly  certified,  applications 
will  be  rejected.  All  former  Gleaners 
are  given  until  October,  1941,  to  file 
their  certified  applications. 

The  M  Men  and  Gleaner  committees 
of  the  General  Boards  are  happy  with 
the  reports  coming  in  from  the  field. 
As  usual,  this  department  is  function- 
ing very  well.  With  our  best  wishes 
for  the  holiday  season  for  each  of  you 
goes  a  sincere  desire  that  the  coming 
year  may  be  the  best  yet,  and  we  hope 
that  you  young  people  may  be  able  to 
live  even  more  closely  to  the  teachings 
of  the  Gospel  and  maintain  the  high 
standards  and  ideals  of  the  Church  in 
every  respect. 

THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON  CLASS 
OF  THE  SEVENTEENTH  WARD 

Another  Fireside  Group 

"\T[7here  do  you  spend  your  time  after 
vv  Sacrament  meeting?  For  the  past 
two  years  forty  to  ninety-five  young 
people  of  the  Seventeenth  Ward,  Salt 
Lake  Stake,  have  been  profitably  spend- 
(Continued  on  page  48) 


THE  BOOK  OF  MORMON  CLASS  OF 
THE  SEVENTEENTH  WARD,  SALT 
LAKE  STAKE. 


47 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,     JANUARY,     1941 


Mutual  Messages 

{Continued  from  page  47) 

ing  this  time  in  a  Book  of  Mormon 
class.  Under  the  sponsorship  of  the 
M.  I.  A.,  the  class  was  organized  in 
October,  1938.  A  president,  vice-presi- 
dent, and  secretary  were  elected  for 
one  year,  and  J.  Shelby  Arrigona,  a 
returned  missionary  from  the  California 
Mission,  was  selected  as  instructor. 

Two  years  were  required  to  read  the 
Book  of  Mormon.  The  members  took 
turns  reading  five  verses  at  a  time  until 
one  chapter  was  completed.  This  was 
followed  by  a  general  religious  and 
historical  discussion. 

Recreational  and  social  activities  dur- 
ing the  week,  as  well  as  scriptural 
study  on  Sunday  evenings,  are  con- 
tributing factors  to  the  success  of  the 
group.  These  activities  have  included 
horseback  rides,  swimming  in  Great 
Salt  Lake  followed  by  a  'bread  and 
milk"  repast  to  the  tune  of  classical 
records;  canyon  trips,  such  as  a  hike  to 
the  top  of  Mt.  Timpanogos;  socials, 
dances,  skiing  trips,  and  other  winter 
sports  outings;  and  not  least  among 
these,  an  anniversary  party  on  October 
16,  commemorating  the  two  years'  or- 
ganization of  the  class. 

Sacrament  meeting  programs  in  vari- 
ous wards  and  several  excursions 
through  the  temple  have  been  interest- 
ing highlights  of  the  class's  activities. 
Six  missionaries  have  been  called  from 
its  ranks,  each  bearing  testimony  of  the 
helpfulness  of  the  class  to  his  under- 
standing of  the  Gospel.  Members  of 
the  group  took  a  three-day  900-mile 
trip  to  Blanding,  Utah,  to  attend  a  fare- 
well program  for  one  of  these  mission- 
aries. 

The  class  is  now  devoting  its  time 
to  a  subject  study  of  the  Doctrine  and 
Covenants. 

As  it  commences  its  third  year  of 
existence,  the  group  is  larger  than  ever, 
and  enthusiasm  remains  strong  among 
its  members,  who,  through  their  at- 
tendance, have  all  come  to  appreciate 
the  blessings  of  the  Gospel  more  fully. 


games.  Mr.  Johnson  will  aid  in  con- 
ducting some  schools  for  vanball  of- 
cials  in  Ogden,  Provo,  Salt  Lake,  and 
other  nearby  centers. 

The  tournament  will  be  held  in  the 
Deseret  Gymnasium  and  conducted  un- 
der the  single  elimination  plan.  Sixteen 
teams  will  participate  and  the  allocation 
of  teams  is  as  follows  for  the  various 
councils : 


Salt  Lake  4 

Ogden 2 

Cache   2 

Tendoy  2 


Teton  Peaks  2 

Utah  Parks  .....2 

Snake  River  1 

So.    California 1 


Eligibility  of  tournament  players  will 
be  essentially  the  same  as  in  former 
years.  A  player  must  be  a  registered 
Explorer  who  is  not  more  than  seven- 
teen years  of  age  on  December  31  and 
who  is  a  non-user  of  tobacco  and 
liquor. 

All  Explorer  troops  are  urged  to 
enter  teams  in  local  competition  with 
the  big  Vanball  tournament  in  Salt 
Lake  City  as  the  goal.  Further  details 
of  the  tournament  will  be  given  at  a 
later  date. 


If  you  don't  want  a  dance,  try  a  Satur- 
day tramp,  skating,  skiing,  or  bobsled 
party.  Follow  it  with  a  chili  supper  or 
by  hot  soup  or  doughnuts  and  cocoa — 
and  you  will  have  little  expense  and 
much  fun! 

Let  the  January  28th  lesson  be  some- 
thing very  special.  Our  reading  course 
book,  Hello  Life,  by  Elsie  Talmage 
Brandley  has,  we  hope,  been  a  great 
source  of  strength  and  encouragement 
to  you.  Let's  spend  a  good  evening  on 
it.  Let  the  girls  dramatize  parts,  read 
excerpts,  hunt  lesson  applications.  It's 
a  delightful  book,  compiled  by  a  de- 
lightful woman  from  the  zestful  work 
of  a  never-to-be-forgotten  writer.  A 
joyous  month — a  most  Happy  Year — 
to  all  of  you,  is  the  wish  of  your 
Junior  Committee! 


— CO 


duniors 


— cp- 


fc$|oiMl 


M.  Elmer  Christensen,  chairman;  Mark  H.  Nichols, 
Axel  A.  Madsen,  Elwood  G.  Winters,  Floyed  G. 
Eyre,  John  D.  Giles. 

VANBALL  TOURNAMENT 
PLANNED 

"Wanball  is  in  the  air.  February  28 
v  and  March  1  are  the  dates  for  the 
1941  Intermountain  Vanball  Tour- 
nament. Tentative  plans  for  the 
event  were  recently  drawn  up  by 
the  committee  composed  of  General 
Board  members  and  Scout  executives. 
Roy  Johnson,  who  has  devoted  much 
time  in  pioneering  the  game,  will  act  as 
this  year's  tournament  manager  and 
look  after  the  details  of  the  tournament 
48 


Gladys    Harbertson,    chairman;    Emily    H.    Bennett, 
Grace  C.  Neslen,  Lueen  J.  King. 

'"Phere  can  be  no  lovelier  way  of 
starting  the  New  Year  for  Junior 
leaders  than  to  get  right  down  to  "first 
principles";  to  turn  the  light  of  truth 
on  faith  and  repentance  and  discover 
for  ourselves  their  richer  meanings,  and 
to  try  with  all  the  enthusiasm  and 
sincerity  of  conviction  to  present  some 
of  their  beauty  to  Junior  girls.  To 
strengthen  testimonies  and  build  happi- 
ness and  spiritual  security  is  our  Jan- 
uary privilege. 

Let's  be  very  artful  about  it.  Just  as 
you  shift  the  furniture  about  in  your 
living  room  or  put  a  new  bouquet  on 
the  dining  room  table — just  as  you 
try  a  new  salad  for  lunch  or  cock  your 
hat  a  little  farther  to  the  side — just  as 
you  "season"  your  own  life  with  va- 
riety— so  we  may  approach  our  Junior 
work.  Let's  get  a  fresh  angle.  If 
you've  been  using  panel  discussions, 
forget  them  for  awhile  and  start  with 
a  challenging  question.  Ask  your  girls 
about  the  school  dance  or  the  basket- 
ball game  and  lead  from  a  familiar 
situation  to  an  abstract  truth.  Dram- 
atize the  idea  of  light;  discuss  its  de- 
velopment. Read  the  Doctrine  and 
Covenants  for  the  many,  many  wonder- 
ful statements  concerning  light  and  how 
our  heavenly  Father  has  given  it  in 
abundance  to  His  children  that  none 
need  be  cheerless  and  alone  even  in  the 
darkest  and  saddest  hours.  Let's  give 
light  on  faith  and  repentance  to  Junior 
Girls  in  January — that  they  may  have 
joy  everlasting. 

Let's  have  a  little  festivity,  too.  If 
you  haven't  had  your  holiday  party 
with  the  Explorers,   it   isn't  too   late. 


Hcoiifs 


D.     E.     Hammond,     chairman;     Wayne    B.     Hales, 
George  Stewart,  John  D.    Giles. 

A  few  months  ago,  General  Superin- 
•^  tendent  George  Q.  Morris  told  us 
that  the  great  Boy  Scout  organization 
was  ours  to  use  in  any  and  all  ways  to 
improve  the  physical,  mental,  and  spir- 
itual manhood  of  the  boys  of  our 
Church.  "But,"  he  said,  "we  must  use 
its  name  and  its  methods  honorably.  We 
must  pay  our  way  and  not  'bootleg'  the 
Boy  Scouts  of  America."  This  means 
that  every  boy,  every  Scouter,  and 
every  troop  that  is  identified  with  the 
Boy  Scouts  of  America  through  the 
M.  I.  A.  as  the  sponsoring  institution 
should  be  registered  by  January  31, 
1941.  The  Boy  Scout  committee  of 
the  General  Board  is  cooperating  with 
the  local  councils  in  Utah  to  establish 
January  31  as  the  uniform  deadline  for 
re-registration.     {Concluded  on  page  50) 


1.  M  Men-Gleaner  Reading  Course  class  of  Jackson- 
ville  Branch,  Southern  States   Mission. 

2.  First  Gold  and  Green  Ball  of  St.  Ignatius  Branch, 
Northwestern  States  Mission. 

3.  Missionary  chorus,    Michigan  Junior  Stake. 

4.  First  annual  M  Men  and  Gleaner  Girls'  banquet 
and  dance,  Denver  District,  Western  States 
Mission. 

5.  Seattle  Stake  M.  I.  A.  Dancers  who  presented 
artistic  floor  show  at  the  Stake  Gold  and  Greeiv 
Ball. 

6.  Crowning  of  queen  by  President  Leo  J.  Muir  of 
the  Northern  States  Mission  second  annual  Gold 
and  Green  Ball   held  in  Michigan  Junior  Stake. 

7.  Dancers  at  Gridley  Stake  Gold  and  Green  Ball. 

8.  South  Los  Angeles  Stake  Theme  Festival. 

9.  Cast  of  the  Mancos  Ward  play,  "A  Man's  House." 

10.  Brother  David  A.  Jones,  left,  first  person  bap- 
tized in  the  Portuguese  division  of  the  Brazilian 
Mission,  and  Elder  Ferrel  W.  Bybee. 

11.  "Renting  the  Hive"  presented  by  the  Wilshire 
Ward  Bee- Hive  Girls. 

12.  Girls  in  the  Junior  and  Bee-Hive  departments 
who  have  had  an  outstanding  record  in  attend- 
ance, Nibley  Park  Ward,  Granite  Stake. 

13.  Queen  and  attendants  of  the  Gold  and  Green 
Ball,  Toronto  Branch,  Canadian  Mission. 

14.  M  Men-Gleaner  Banquet  held  on  the  Island  of 
Kauai. 

15.  Gold  and  Green  Ball,  Kansas  City,  Missouri. 

16.  Kalihi  M.   I.  A.  Girls'  Basketball  team. 

17.  "A  Man's  House"  presented  by  the  dramatic 
classes  of  the  Independence  and  Kansas  City 
branches  of  the  Central  States  Mission. 

IS.  The  Alberta  Stake  Gold  and  Green  Ball. 

19.  First  Ward,  Palmyra  Stake,  Junior  girls'  knit- 
ting project. 

20.  "A  Man's  House"  presented  by  Rigby  Stake 
M.  I.  A. 

21.  Independence  Branch  Gold  and  Green  Ball,  Cen- 
tral States  Mission. 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,    JANUARY,     1941 


Mutual  Messages 

( Concluded  from  page  48 ) 

Now  is  the  time,  Scoutmasters,  if 
it  has  not  already  been  done,  to  collect 
from  each  boy  in  your  troop  his  regis- 
tration fee  and  have  it  through  your 
local  council  office  before  your  registra- 
tion becomes  delinquent.  If  your 
registration  lapsed  November  1st,  De- 
cember 1st,  or  January  1st,  we  urge  that 
troops  add  fifteen,  ten,  or  five  cents 
respectively  to  the  regular  fifty  cents 
so  that  their  registration  is  completed 
to  January  31,  1942. 

We  feel  this  uniform  registration 
date,  extended  to  January  31,  will  save 
us  much  work  and  embarrassment  and 
decidedly  improve  the  record  of  L.  D. 
S.  troops  in  the  annual  report  of  the 
National  Council.  Those  troops  that 
have  established  the  budget  plan  (five 
cents  per  week  per  Scout)  will  have 
little  difficulty  in  meeting  this  expense. 
It  may  be  that  the  entire  fee  has  already 
been  collected  by  this  means.  Where 
the  budget  plan  is  not  in  operation, 
troops  have  made  successful  campaigns 
by  placing  responsibility  in  the  senior 
patrol  leader,  the  troop  scribe,  or  the 
patrol  leaders  to  make  the  necessary 
collections. 

In  any  case,  the  final  responsibility 
falls  back  upon  the  Scoutmaster.  Let 
us  all  use  our  Scouting  opportunities 
worthily  and  keep  our  membership  cur- 
rent in  this  great  organization. 

TROOP  8,  BERKELEY,  CREDITS 
ACHIEVEMENTS  TO 
OUTSTANDING  LEADERSHIP 

HTroop  8,  Berkeley,  B.  S.  A.,  re- 
ceived  its  charter  in  December, 
1927.  The  troop  consisted  of  eight  boys 
under  the  leadership  of  Willard  Lang- 
ton.  The  troop  then  had  as  succeeding 
scoutmasters  Marriner  Swenson,  Joseph 
E.  Wood,  and  Howard  Macdonald, 
under  whose  leadership  it  continued  to 
grow. 


m 


TROOP  S,   BERKELEY  EAGLE  SCOUTS 


In  1934,  Dr.  Raymond  L.  Knight,  who 
had  been  a  troop  committee  member, 
was  appointed  Scoutmaster.  He  has 
served  in  that  capacity  up  to  the  present 
time.  Dr.  Knight  is  chairman  of  the 
Health  and  Safety  Committee  of  the 
Berkeley-Contra  Costa  Area  Council, 
B.  S.  A.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
National  Council.  Under  his  direction 
the  troop  has  grown  from  its  original 
eight  members  to  thirty-eight  boys.  In 
1937,  the  ward  was  divided,  and  con- 
sequently, the  troop  lost  twenty-two 
boys  to  the  new  Claremont  Ward.  In 
1940,  the  troop  registered  twenty-two 
boys. 

tip  to  this  time,  five  boys  had  at- 
tained the  rank  of  Eagle  Scout.  The 
first  three  boys  to  attain  this  rank  were 
Lynn  Knight,  Robert  Johnson,  and  Ed- 
ward Pyle.  These  were  followed  by 
Marion  Johnson  and  Bill  Parsons. 

On  November  3,  1940,  six  boys  were 
awarded  Eagle  badges  at  a  very  in- 
spirational Eagle  court  of  honor  which 
was  attended  by  Mayor  Frank  S. 
Gaines  of  Berkeley  and  Oscar  A.  Kirk- 
ham,  deputy  regional  executive. 

Features  of  the  evening  program 
were  the  presentation  of  official  Eagle 
Scout  rings  to  the  boys  by  Bishop  Jesse 
Farr,  and  the  presentation  of  Eagle  pins 
by  the  boys  to  their  mothers. 


HeMs 

Ileen  Waspe,  chairman;  Lucy  Andersen,  Bertha 
Tingey,  Ann  C.  Larson,  Luacine  C.  Fox.  Margaret 
N.  Wells. 

"Cor  some  time  now  we  have  felt  the 
growing  necessity  of  bringing  to 
your  attention  the  matter  of  Bee-Hive 
awards.  As  you  are  aware,  our  whole 
program  is  based  on  the  principle  of 
giving  awards  for  work  accomplished. 
The  question  now  arises  as  to  whether 
or  not  we  are  becoming  so  eager  to 
give  the  girls  awards  that  we  become 
careless  and  allow  the  girls  to  receive 
seals  regardless  of  how  well  the  cell 
was  filled.  If  our  girls  are  conscien- 
tiously doing  their  work  and  our  Bee 
Keepers  are  making  a  careful  check, 
undoubtedly  the  system  has  merit.  If, 
however,  girls  accept  seals,  honor 
badges,  and  Bee  Lines  for  work  just 
partly  done,  or  even  sometimes  ac- 
cepting unearned  credit,  there  is  more 
harm  than  good  done.  We  strive  with 
every  method  at  our  command  to  build 
character,  to  make  honesty  a  great 
virtue  in  the  lives  of  our  girls,  yet 
by  the  very  act  of  being  too  lenient 
we  almost  encourage  girls  to  be  un- 
truthful and  accept  awards  they  do  not 
merit.  It  is  true  that  our  program  is 
crowded;  you  may  not  even  have  time 
to  do  all  the  required  work,  but  it  will 
be  a  great  satisfaction  to  you  and  of 
more  help  to  the  girls  if  you  do  only 
that  which  you  can  do  thoroughly  and 
up  to  standard. 

This  time  of  the  year  many  requests 


50 


come  to  the  office  for  assistance  with 
symbols.  January  is  our  symbol  month. 
Bits  of  felt  of  every  color  of  the  rain- 
bow are  mailed  out  destined  to  become 
perhaps  a  flower,  a  tree,  a  torch,  each 
being  a  symbol  or  guiding  star  some 
girl  has  chosen.  Such  virtues  as  hon- 
esty, perseverance,  neatness,  or  faith 
will  be  embodied  in  her  symbol  and  each 
girl  will  try  to  acquire  through  the 
years  these  qualities  as  she  builds  to- 
ward womanhood.  It  is  important  that 
enough  time  and  thought  be  used  when 
deciding  on  a  symbol  so  that  it  is  really 
impressed  on  her  mind  why  she  chose 
her  symbol  and  what  it  represents. 
Many  times,  when  admiring  a  symbol 
on  a  girl's  band,  someone  asks  the  ques- 
tion, "What  does  your  symbol  mean?" 
and  the  girl  looks  completely  blank  and 
says  she  has  forgotten.  We  sometimes 
wonder  if  she  ever  did  know  and  of 
what  value,  if  it  is  just  lovely  to  look 
at  and  means  nothing  more.  It  is  our 
hope  that  this  year  each  Bee  Keeper 
will  be  able  so  to  impress  the  girls  with 
the  idea  of  symbolism  that  when  Junior, 
Gleaner,  and  even  later  years  may  pass, 
when  seeing  a  violet,  ivy,  lily,  or  what- 
ever her  symbol  might  have  been,  she 
will  think  with  a  smile  of  the  incentive 
it  has  been  in  helping  her  attain  to  a 
fine  womanhood. 

You  are  now  well  into  the  winter's 
work;  the  next  year  is  just  commenc- 
ing, a  splendid  time  to  take  about  half 
an  hour  to  analyze  the  success  and 
failures  in  your  group  so  far.  It  would 
help  to  get  a  sheet  of  paper  and  list 
about  twenty  questions  on  how  your 
group  is  progressing.  Some  of  these 
might  read:  How  strict  am  I  in  check- 
ing before  making  awards?  Am  I  utiliz- 
ing the  class  period  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage? Have  I  made  an  effort  to 
know  something  of  each  girl's  person- 
ality? Are  all  the  girls  participating  in 
class?  Is  the  attendance  all  it  could 
be?    How  may  I  improve  on  the  order? 

We  take  this  opportunity  to  extend 
to  you  the  season's  greetings.  We  do 
appreciate  our  wonderful  Bee  Keepers 
and  the  splendid  work  they  are  accom- 
plishing. 

■  o  « 

THE  GLEANER'S  NEW  YEAR 
By  Linnie  Fisher  Robinson 

UNTO  this  year  I  dedicate 
The  joy  I  know; 
The  chance  to  live  it  happily 
Will  not  pass  slow, 
So,  I  must  make  each  moment  count 
For  harvest  gold! 

And  bring  my  gleaning  of  bright  truth 
Into  the  fold. 

The  dauntless  faith  my  fathers  knew 
Quench  all  my  fear; 
The  Gospel  plan  they  died  to  give 
Make  each  step  clear; 
Their  sharing  hearts  inspire  my  days 
And  bring  love  in; 
Their  building  of  clean  homes  and  state 
Be  mine  to  win; 

Their  search  for  wisdom  beckon  me 
And  be  my  pleasure; 
Their  vision  through  a  spiritual  sight 
My  priceless  treasure. 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,     JANUARY,     1941 


Cc/UUam.  £.  QUvsl 


A 


SKETCH  OF  A  PIONEER 
MUSICIAN 


By  HAROLD  H.  JENSON 

Historian,  Sons  of  Utah  Pioneers 

William  C.  Clive,  veteran  pio- 
neer musician,  formerly  of 
Salt  Lake  City  and  now  living 
in  Overton,  Nevada,  is  an  unassuming 
individual  who  would  never  have  told 
this  story  had  not  the  writer  been  in- 
sistent. In  brief  his  life's  musical  his- 
tory is  as  follows: 

"When  I  was  but  three  years  old, 
my  father,  Claude  Clive,  who  was  a 
tailor,  started  me  in  my  career.  I  used 
to  play  the  concertina,  and  as  a  child 
artist  was  featured  in  many  church  and 
social  gatherings.  Then  I  led  the  or- 
chestra while  in  my  teens.  My  actual 
training  in  the  violin  commenced  un- 
der the  well-known  musician  of  that 
day,  Magnus  Olson.  He  turned  me 
over  to  Ebenezer  Beesley,  who  told  me 
that  George  Careless  should  be  my  in- 
structor. I  feel  I  owe  a  debt  of  grati- 
tude to  them  for  their  painstaking 
patience  with  me. 

"Years  went  by  and  I  qualified  as  a 
member  of  the  old  Salt  Lake  Theatre 
orchestra,  first  playing  under  C.  J. 
Thomas  and  later  George  Careless.  It 
was  during  this  time  that  I  composed 
the  first  overture  ever  played  in  Utah 
as  the  product  of  a  Utah  composer.  It 
was  called  'The  Golden  Crest,'  and  loud 
was  the  applause  and  praise  the  com- 
position received.  Brother  Careless 
motioned  for  me  to  take  a  bow,  but  I 
was  too  excited  and  forgot  everything. 
The  Deseret  News  next  day  criticized 
me  in  its  review  for  not  receiving  the 
just  honors  the  work  deserved.  I  have 
always  been  timid,  and  hence  the  event 
went  by  practically  unnoticed. 

"Later  I  composed  another  overture, 
and  a  Church  anthem  which  has  been 
published  and  is  called  'Come  Into  His 
Fold.'  My  'Melody  in  A'  brought  con- 
siderable fame,  and  Frank  W.  Asper, 
Tabernacle  organist,  quite  frequently 
uses  this  number  in  his  daily  recitals, 
and  many  consider  it  my  masterpiece. 

"I  played  in  the  Salt  Lake  Theatre 
•orchestra  for  years,  playing  under  Wil- 
lard  Weihe  as  director.  I  directed  the 
orchestra  at  the  old  Grand  Theatre 
when  Paul  Hammer  and  a  Brother  Jones 
managed  it. 

"Then  started  my  period  of  teaching. 
I  think  I  have  taught  as  many  young 
people  to  play  the  violin  as  any  one 
living  teacher  has.  It  was  a  joy  to  me 
to  work  with  the  youth  and  when  many 
could  not  pay,  yet  had  talent,  I  remem- 
bered my  early  training  and  helped 
them  all  I  could  to  succeed.  If  a  child 
Ihas  talent  he  should  cultivate  it.  Every 


WILLIAM  C.  CLIVE  LOOKING  AT  THE  SCORE 
OF  ONE  OF  HIS  OWN  COMPOSITIONS. 

one  should  learn  to  play  some  instru- 
ment or  learn  to  sing,  and  if  he  will 
stick  to  it,  he  will  succeed.  The  fault 
is  too  often  with  parents,  not  with 
children  when  they  give  up.  Sometimes 
the  dullest  pupil  turns  out  in  the  end 
to  be  the  most  talented. 

"I  had  many  chances  to  leave  my 
native  Utah.  I  was  offered  a  position 
with  Brahm's  orchestra,  who  wanted 
me  to  go  east,  and  they  could  not  un- 
derstand why  I  preferred  to  stay. 
Sometimes  I  have  wondered  if  I  should 
not  have  gone,  as  my  only  trip  there 
was  when  studying  under  Carl  Pierce 
at  Boston.  But  I  do  not  regret  having 
spent  my  life  and  service  here,  for 
after  all  there's  no  place  like  home." 

Brother  Clive  has  not  played  in 
vain.  He  was  soloist  with  the  renowned 
Clarence  Eddy,  organist,  when  he 
played  in  the  Tabernacle  and  also 
played  at  the  National  Educational 
Association  convention  in  Salt  Lake. 
He  has  been  featured  in  recitals 
throughout  the  West.  His  entire  family 
is  talented,  and  they  have  an  orchestra 
for  their  own  amusement.  Brother 
Clive's  son,  William,  plays  violin;  his 
son  Joseph  is  a  cellist  and  saxophone 
player  whose  work  in  Salt  Lake  or- 
chestras and  high  schools  is  well  known; 
his  two  daughters,  Annie  and  Agnes, 
also  play,  and  all  the  grandchildren  as 
well. 

Brother  Clive  was  honored  by  the 
Salt  Lake  Civic  orchestra  when  his 
famous  overture  "The  Golden  Crest" 
was  used  before  a  large  audience.  He 
directed  as  guest  conductor. 

Here  are  a  few  statements  from  na- 
tional and  local  publications: 

New  York  Musical  Currier:  "Professor 
Clive  is  a  man  who  stayed  home,  and  in 
his  own  country,  his  own  town,  he  is  not 
without  honor,  for  thirty-five  years  [it  is 
now  many  more]  as  a  musician,  composer, 
and  leader." 

Deseret  News:  "Brother  Clive's  tone  is 
pure  and  sympathetic." 

Salt  Lake  Tribune:  "Mr.  Clive  was  the 
recipient  of  two   encores  richly  deserved." 


HEEDING  THE 
WARNING . . 

By  Weston  N.  Nordgren 


We  shall  lay  up  grain  ...  to  feed  the 
Saints  who  gather  here  from  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth.  When  hard  times  commence 
they  will  begin  at  the  house  of  God.  .  .  . 
No  serious  loss  or  injury  will  arise  from 
calamities,  if  we  do  as  we  are  told.  .  .  . 
Shall  we  ever  be  brought  to  want?  I  tell 
you,  if  we  live  our  religion,  we  never  shall. 
—Heber  C.  Kimball,  1856,  Journal  of  Dis- 
courses. 

pJ*ACH  week  all  members  of  the  Gar- 
*~*  vanza  Ward  High  Priests'  group 
contribute  to  a  central  fund  any  amount 
of  money  they  can  readily  put  in, 
whether  it  be  fifty  cents  or  five  or  ten 
dollars.  During  the  following  week  the 
group's  purchasing  committee  with  the 
money  in  hand  buys  whatever  fruit  may 
be  available  at  wholesale  and  divides 
it  equally  among  all  group  members. 
In  this  way  all  get  an  equal  share,  with- 
out embarrassment — those  who  can 
contribute  more  helping  those  who  can 
give  but  little.  The  families  of  the 
members  preserve  the  fruit  at  home. 

Seventies  of  the  223rd  Quorum  living 
in  the  North  Hollywood  Ward  have 
banded  together  to  cooperate  in  food- 
saving.  An  unmarried  member  pur- 
chased canning  equipment,  the  wives 
of  other  quorum  members  preserve 
food,  and  all  share  in  the  finished  prod- 
uct. 

Each  member  contributed  what  he 
could  to  start,  from  one  to  twenty  dol- 
lars, so  that  produce  can  be  purchased 
wholesale  and  when  at  its  peak  on  the 
market.  Only  the  best  grade  of  fruits 
and  vegetables  is  bought,  and  the  aver- 
age cost  per  can  for  the  contents  is 
about  three  cents.  The  finished  product 
is  stored  in  a  central  place,  and  as  fast 
as  those  with  larger  families  can 
purchase  their  needs  from  the  canned 
produce,  those  who  invested  most  to 
start  the  project  get  it  back,  or  put  it 
into  new  foodstuffs  to  be  canned. 

Nine  families  are  working  on  this 
project,  and  already  they  have  canned 
several  thousand  cans  of  fruit  and 
vegetables.  They  are  following  the 
fruit  and  vegetable  season  and  when 
cold  weather  comes  will  add  meat  to 
their  canning  activities. 

The  Garvanza  Ward  group  of  this 
quorum  of  Seventy  has  been  pooling 
members'  money  for  fruit,  the  quorum 
purchaser  obtaining  and  distributing  the 
produce  to  members  in  accordance 
with  the  amount  each  put  into  the 
weekly  pool.  They  have  now  added 
a  canner. 

Before  this  project  one  could  hardly 
find  a  bottle  of  canned  foodstuff  in  this 
Seventies'  group.  Through  the  gift  of 
some  1,200  quarts  of  fruit  from  an 
apricot  orchard,  to  be  had  for  the  pick- 
ing, quorum  members  made  their  start 
and  caught  the  spirit  of  the  work. 

51 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,    JANUARY,    1941 


ANDREW  JENSON 


( Concluded  from  page  12) 
and  kings,  sits  working  in  his  of- 
fice, planning  new  historical  re- 
searches. His  published  books  in- 
clude Church  Chronology;  Histor- 
ical Record,  Volumes  5  to  9;  History 
of  the  Scandinavian  Mission;  Latter- 
day  Saints'  Biographical  Encyclo- 
pedia, which  includes  four  volumes; 
and  Andrew  Jenson's  Autobiog- 
raphy. Among  the  Danish-Nor- 
wegian books  which  have  been  pub- 
lished are  History  of  the  Prophet 
Joseph  Smith;  Kirken's  Historie 
(Church  History);  and  Jorden 
Rundt  (Around  the  World).  A 
highlight  in  the  publishing  of  his 
Church  books  will  be  the  appearance 
early  in  1941  of  his  eleven-hundred- 
page  volume,  Encyclopedic  History 
of  the  Church. 


ANDREW    JENSON     NEAR     FORT    TE    JON, 
CALIFORNIA,   JUNE  15,    1938. 


To  the  proverbial  age  of  "three- 
score and  ten"  Andrew  Jenson  has 
now  added  a  full  score  of  years  of 
usefulness,  and  throughout  his  long 
life  he  has  made  the  by-line  "By 
Andrew  Jenson"  become  a  mark  of 
painstaking  labor  and  the  signature 
of  a  cherished  friend. 

On  his  birthday,  Elder  Jenson  put 
in  a  routine  working  day  at  his  of- 
fice, and  in  the  evening  attended  a 
family  dinner  at  the  Lion  House, 
followed  by  a  public  reception  at 
which  he  greeted  his  many  friends. 
Participating  in  the  occasion  were 
all  of  his  six  living  children:  Mrs. 
Minerva  J.  Smiley  of  Miami,  Florida; 
Mrs.  Eleanore  J.  Reynolds  of  New 
York  City;  and  Mrs.  Eva  J.  Olsen, 
Leo  R.,  Parley  P.,  and  Harold  H. 
Jenson,  all  of  Salt  Lake  City. 


THE  CHURCH   MOVES  ON 


{Concluded  from  page  34) 
L.  D.  S.  College  Observes  Founding 

HpHE  fifty-fourth  anniversary  of  the 
-*■  founding  of  the  L.  D.  S.  College 
(now  the  L.  D.  S.  Business  College) 
in  Salt  Lake,  was  observed  on  Novem- 
ber 15.  F.  Y.  Fox,  president  of  the 
institution,  presided  at  a  special  as- 
sembly and  at  student  and  alumni  fes- 
tivities during  the  day. 

Winners  Named  in  B.  Y.  U. 
Oratorical  Contest 

HTen  Brigham  Young  University  ora- 
■*•  tors,  speaking  on  religious  subjects, 
proved  their  abilities  in  the  annual  He- 
ber  J.  Grant  oratory  contest  held  re- 
cently at  the  University.  Judges  were 
unable  to  declare  any  single  contestant 
winner  and  were  forced  to  award  first 
place  to  three  of  the  contestants:  Miss 
Winifred  Kunz,  Montpelier,  Idaho;  El- 
den  Ricks,  Provo;  and  Byron  Cheever 
of  Payson.  Each  student  received  an 
autographed  book  from  President  Grant 
and  a  copy  of  Harrison  R.  Merrill's 
Dusk  on  the  Desert,  from  President 
Franklin  S.  Harris. 

Welfare  Program 
Considers  Housing 

A  new  Church  make-work  project 
■*"*■  which  hopes  to  provide  good  hous- 
ing at  rock-bottom  costs  and  at  the 
same  time  offer  employment  to  needy 
workmen  is  being  considered  by  the  ex- 
ecutive committee  of  the  Salt  Lake  Re- 
gion. The  housing  subcommittee  has 
acquired  about  ten  acres  of  land  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  state  fair  grounds  for 
the  project. 
52 


Under  the  plan  as  contemplated, 
needy  individuals  would  be  permitted 
to  contribute  labor  in  partial  payment 
for  one  of  the  low-cost  residences. 

Deaths 

Joseph  S.  Bodell,  patriarch  in  West 
Jordan  Stake,  formerly  in  bishopric, 
stake  high  council,  and  quorum  presi- 
dency of  stake  High  Priests. 

Lon  Fisher,  high  councilman  in 
Granite  Stake,  former  member  of  Lin- 
coln Ward  bishopric,  temple  worker, 
and  Tabernacle  Choir  librarian. 

November  24,  1940 

Mrs.  Hannah  Pierson  Anderson,  97, 
of  Midvale,  Utah,  died.  A  convert 
from  Sweden,  at  the  age  of  nineteen 
she  came  to  America,  and  made  the 
journey  across  the  plains  and  moun- 
tains to  Utah  on  foot. 

Mrs.  Fannie  Marilla  Garner  Tracy, 
96,  one  of  Utah's  earliest  pioneers,  died. 
She  had  been  a  resident  of  Salt  Lake 
City  for  the  past  twenty-five  years. 

"Era"  Cites  Missionaries 
Released  in  November 

^Tames  of  Elders  and  lady  mission- 

^  aries  released  in  November,  1940, 
and  of  several  not  previously  reported 
appear  on  the  following  "honor  roll": 

Argentine:  Orson  H.  Asay,  Lovell, 
Wyoming;  Pershing  L.  Farnsworth,  Mesa, 
Arizona;  Richard  J.  McBride,  Pima,  Ari- 
zona; Leroy  A.  Watson,  Mesa,  Arizona; 
Alma  V.  Whipple,  Salt  Lake. 

Australian:  Ralph  G.  Holton,  Ogden, 
Utah;  Henry  Jensen,  Riverton,  Utah; 
Walker  P.  Mabey,  Bountiful,  Utah. 

Brazilian:    Augustus  F.  Faust,  Salt  Lake. 

Canadian:  Ralph  G.  Robinson,  Los  An- 
geles, Orson  B.  Spencer,  Yost,  Utah. 

East  Central  States :  Joseph  E.  Bateman, 
Salt  Lake. 


Eastern  States:  Gordon  W.  Etough, 
Kanab,  Utah. 

Hawaiian:  Ernest  R.  Horsley,  Malad, 
Idaho;  Dean  G.  Huntsman,  Idaho  Falls,. 
Idaho. 

Japanese:  Kenneth  W.  Harrison,  Sandy, 
Utah;  Archibald  W.  Lake,  Salt  Lake;  Edith 
M.  Olsen,  Salt  Lake. 

Mexican:  Marguerite  Anderson,  Mexico 
City,  Mexico;  Rinda  Anderson,  Mexico 
City,  Mexico;  Leona  Farnsworth,  Colonia 
Juarez,  Mexico;  Timoteo  Flores,  San  Pedro 
Martir,  Mexico;  Maria  Muro,  El  Paso, 
Texas;  Nora  Redd,  Colonia  Juarez,  Mexico^ 
Emiliano  Regino,  Ajacuba  Santiago,  Mex- 
ico; John  B.  Robinson,  Jr.,  Colonia  Dublan, 
Mexico;  Dennison  E.  Romney,  Colonia 
Juarez,  Mexico;  George  L.  Turley,  Colonia 
Juarez,  Mexico. 

New  England:  Cyrus  M.  Robertson, 
Lovell,  Wyoming;  David  E.  Todd,  Salt 
Lake. 

New  Zealand:  Cleve  R.  Jones,  Salt 
Lake;  Homer  W.  Kirkham,  Salt  Lake; 
Warren  S.  Ottley,  Salt  Lake. 

North  Central  States:  Paul  C.  Lyon,  Jr., 
Salt  Lake;  Alice  Olson,  Salt  Lake;  George 
M.  Rowley,  Parowan,  Utah; 

Northern  States:  Royal  D.  Anderson, 
Pocatello,  Idaho;  Clarence  Buehner,  Salt 
Lake;  Ashal  J.  Calder,  Logan,  Utah;  Ruth 
B.  Erickson,  Salt  Lake;  Junior  T.  Lundgreen, 
Ogden,  Utah;  James  L.  Shupe,  Ogden,  Utah. 

Northwestern  States:  Lillian  S.  Keller. 
Phoenix,  Arizona;  Nephi  Martineaux,  Lo- 
gan, Utah. 

Southern  States:  Viola  Mae  Bennett, 
Wilmington,  North  Carolina;  Don  F.  Rob- 
ertson, Wanship,  Utah. 

Spanish-American:  Margaret  G.  Horn- 
berger,  Macleod,  Canada;  Blanche  J. 
Swasey,  Boneta,  Utah. 

Texas  Mission:  Gladys  L.  Butikofer, 
Idaho  Falls,  Idaho;  James  B.  Manwaring, 
Blackfoot,   Idaho. 

Western  States:  Richard  L.  Glade,  Salt 
Lake;  Wallace  D.  Montague,  Sugar  City, 
Idaho;  Stanley  Murdock,  Sugar  City,  Idaho; 
Theodore  H.  Richards,  Fielding,  Utah;  My- 
ron  I.  Seamons,   Hyde  Park,  Utah. 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,     JANUARY,     1941 


CHEMICAL  ASPECTS  OF  THE  WORD  OF  WISDOM 


(Concluded  from  page  27) 

nine  are  the  most  important  from 
the  standpoint  of  their  physiological 
effects. 

Professor  Porter10  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  California  has  summarized 
the  properties  of  these  substances 
as  follows: 

Caffeine  acts  (1)  upon  the  central  ner- 
vous system,  (2)  upon  the  kidneys,  and 
(3)  upon  the  heart.  It  is  a  cerebral  stimu- 
lant. It  overcomes  drowsiness  and  relieves 
fatigue.  Intravenously  injected  it  quickens 
the  heart  action  and  temporarily  produces 
a  stronger  pulse.  Upon  the  kidneys  it  acts 
as  a  diuretic  .  .  .  many  suffer  indigestion 
if  caffeine  is  used  in  large  amounts. 

Theobromine  is  found  in  chocolate  ( 1  % 
to  2%).  Like  caffeine  it  is  a  nerve  stimu- 
lant and  a  diuretic. 

Theobromine  is  also  found  in 
cocoa,  and  from  the  chemical  point 
of  view  the  Mormon  substitution  of 
hot  cocoa  for  hot  coffee  is  an  act 
of  doubtful  wisdom. 

Wisdom  requires  that  we  con- 
demn certain  nationally  advertised 
beverages  and  many  other  "cold 
drinks"  along  with  tea  and  coffee 
because  caffeine  is  now  used  exten- 
sively to  give  these  drinks  their  "re- 
freshing effect."11  Caffeine  is  also 
added  to  some  brands  of  cigarets 
so  that  the  smoker  will  be  stimulated 
and  thereby  "refreshed"  by  the  caf- 
feine inhaled  along  with  the  other 
constituents  of  the  tobacco  smoke. 


10Porter,    The  Carbon  Compounds,   page   178. 
nRice,     Organic    Chemistry,    page    262.    McGraw 
Hill,  (1927). 


Wisdom  lies  in  avoiding  all  of  these 
nefarious  concoctions. 

Many  years  after  the  date  of  the 
revelation  of  the  Word  of  Wisdom 
the  science  of  nutrition  and  dietetics 
began  to  grow.  With  the  develop- 
ment of  these  sciences  came  evi- 
dence that  heavy  protein  diets  were 
not  conducive  to  good  health.  Now 
moderation  in  the  use  of  meats  is 
advocated  from  the  nutritional  point 
of  view.  The  rather  recent  knowl- 
edge of  vitamins  illustrates  the  wis- 
dom of  the  statement,  "All  grain  is 
good  for  the  food  of  man,  neverthe- 
less, wheat  for  man  .  .  ."  etc. 
The  vitamins  essential  to  man's 
health  are  known  to  be  relatively 
abundant  in  wheat. 

In  connection  with  present-day 
advertising,  verse  four  of  Section 
89  of  the  Doctrine  and  Covenants 
is  particularly  interesting  to  the  stu- 
dent of  chemistry.  This  verse  reads: 

Behold,  verily,  thus  saith  the  Lord  unto 
you:  In  consequence  of  evils  and  designs 
which  do  and  will  exist  in  the  hearts  of 
conspiring  men  in  the  last  days,  I  have 
warned  you  and  forewarn  you  by  giving 
you  this  word  of  wisdom  by  revelation. 

Our  national  magazines  and  our 
billboards  carry  extremely  subtle 
deception  in  the  tobacco,  liquor,  pat- 
ent medicine,  and  soft  drink  adver- 
tisements. In  these  advertisements 
we  find  alluring  slogans,  pictures  of 
attractive  people  using  the  article 
advertised,  and  the  general  sugges- 
tion that  to  use  this  particular  article 
will  insure  health,  happiness,  phys- 
ical vigor,  and  success  in  life. 


In  these  advertisements,  we  also 
find  popular  scientific  terms  and 
phrases  used  not  with  a  desire  to 
present  the  truth,  in  all  cases,  but 
rather  in  an  effort  to  deceive  the 
public — to  lead  the  public  to  place 
an  unwarranted  confidence  in  the 
article  advertised.  The  sponsors  of 
these  advertisements  are  using  every 
possible  device  to  induce  us  to  sac- 
rifice our  health  and  trade  our  money 
for  articles  that  exist,  not  because 
they  are  needed  for  our  welfare,  but 
because  they  yield  enormous  profits 
to  the  manufacturers. 

Fraud  of  equal  magnitude  comes 
over  the  radio  with  extravagant 
claims  cloaked  in  a  scientific  jargon 
designed  to  establish  confidence  in 
a  particular  brand  of  coffee,  an  alka- 
lizer  for  our  stomachs,  a  cure  for  our 
headaches,  a  "refreshing  drink,"  a 
supreme  liquor,  a  marvelous  smoke, 
and  many  other  products  of  ques- 
tionable value  to  mankind.  It  is 
truly  remarkable  that  an  educated 
public  will  fall  for  this  pseudo-sci- 
entific racket! 

In  view  of  what  is  known  of  the 
deleterious  effects  of  alcohol,  tea, 
coffee,  tobacco,  and  other  substances 
not  specifically  mentioned  in  Sec- 
tion 89  of  the  Doctrine  and  Cove- 
nants, it  behooves  all  intelligent  peo- 
ple to  have  sufficient  regard  for  the 
welfare  of  their  physical  equipment 
to  refrain  from  throwing  these 
chemical  "monkey  wrenches"  into 
the  "gears"  of  their  human  ma- 
chinery. 


■   ^p   i 


FIVE  YEARS  ON  THE  SAN  JUAN 


(Continued  from  page  21) 
again  on  our  journey  and  traveled 
peacefully  until  we  nooned  the  third 
day.  Then  we  were  in  some  very  bad 
Indian  territory.  One  by  the  name  of 
Peokon  came  into  our  camp  and  caused 
a  great  deal  of  trouble.  This  Indian 
would  kick  the  dirt  on  our  food  and 
strike  our  knife  blades  on  the  rocks. 
He  would  draw  his  knife  across  his 
throat  to  show  my  wife  and  children 
what  he  would  do  to  them  when  he  got 
help.  Our  boys  acted  as  if  the  time  had 
come  for  them  to  kill  or  to  be  killed. 
I  begged  of  them  not  to  fire  the  first 
shot. 

"The  Indians  left  for  help  and  did 
not  return  before  nightfall.  We  ex- 
pected them  to  return  before  sunrise  as 
those  Indians  were  sun  worshipers  and 
believed  that  the  sun  could  see  and  tell 
the  Great  Spirit  all  they  did,  but  if  the 
sun  did  not  see,  the  Great  Spirit  would 
not  know.  So,  when  daylight  came  and 
the  sun  came  up  and  they  had  not  re- 
turned, we  felt  very  much  relieved. 


"We  had  about  decided  to  cook 
breakfast  when  I  saw  at  a  distance  an 
old  Indian  coming  towards  us.  He  came 
and  told  us  to  hitch  up  our  horses  as 
quickly  as  possible  and  travel  fast.  We 
did  so,  but  were  a  little  doubtful  as  to 
the  Indian's  plans.  We  feared  he  might 
be  leading  us  into  a  trap.  The  roads 
were  through  deep  sand,  and  the  horses 
had  to  stop  often.  This  seemed  to  an- 
noy the  Indian;  he  would  stand  upon 
the  spring  seat  and  look  far  and  wide. 
Then  he  would  urge  us  to  hurry  a  little 
faster. 

"After  a  time  he  told  us  we  could  stop 
as  long  as  we  liked  and  travel  as  slow 
as  we  wished.  He  asked  me  if  I  did 
not  know  him.  I  thought  I  had  seen 
him  before,  but  could  not  place  him. 
He  seemed  very  much  hurt.  He  told 
me  my  name  and  where  I  had  come 
from,  and  said  he  had  been  to  our  place 
many  times  and  we  had  always  given 
him  something  to  eat  and  had  been  good 
to  him.  He  knew  I  was  there  with  my 
family.     He  had  watched  us  on  our 


journey,  and  we  didn't  know  it.  He 
said  Indians  were  planning  to  rob  and 
kill  us  as  soon  as  they  could  find 
enough  volunteers,  and  he  had  come  to 
save  us  by  hurrying  us  out  of  their 
territory. 

"In  two  weeks'  time  we  had  arrived 
at  the  San  Juan  River,  at  a  point  called 
Montezuma  Ford.  We  were  just  in- 
side the  Utah  line  in  the  extreme  south- 
east corner  of  the  state.  I  very  much 
liked  the  looks  of  the  country,  but  my 
wife  felt  that  we  were  isolated  from 
all  civilization  and  was  very  down- 
hearted. 

"The  boys  helped  us  build  two  small 
log  rooms,  one  for  Brother  Harriman 
and  one  for  us.  They  then  left  us.  An 
old  man  by  the  name  of  Harvey  Dunton 
was  with  us,  so  our  company  consisted 
of  three  men,  two  women,  and  eight 
children.  We  were  nearly  a  hundred 
miles  through  almost  impassable  coun- 
try from  the  nearest  settlement,  which 
consisted  of  eight  families. 

(Continued  on  page  54) 

53 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,     JANUARY,     1941 


FIVE  YEARS  ON  THE  SAN  JUAN 


(Continued  from  page  53) 
"In  two  weeks  after  our  arrival,  my 
wife  gave  birth  to  a  baby  girl,  the  first 
white  child  born  on  the  San  Juan. 
Through  all  these  hardships,  my  wife 
was  steadily  regaining  her  health. 

"One  beautiful  afternoon  as  I  was 
trying  to  build  a  fireplace  which  would 
complete  the  walls  of  our  room,  a  friend- 
ly Navajo  came  to  tell  us  that  the 
White-River  Utes  were  on  the  warpath 
and  had  killed  the  Weekes  family  up 
the  river  just  over  the  Arizona  line 
and  would  be  there  to  kill  us  about 
nightfall.  He  wanted  us  to  go  with  him 
to  his  tribe  where  we  would  be  safe, 
but  we  remembered  that  we  had  been 
promised  that  if  we  did  our  part  no 
harm  would  come  to  us.  We  fortified 
ourselves  as  best  we  could  in  one  room. 
We  made  holes  in  the  wall  to  shoot 
through.  The  children  were  put  to  bed 
with  many  a  tear  and  kiss,  and  the  two 
mothers  took  their  watch  by  the  beds. 
We  stood  with  our  guns  loaded.  About 
midnight  the  dogs  barked  and  ran  up 
the  river  bank,  but  after  a  while  they 
came  back.  They  were  very  restless 
for  some  time,  but  when  daylight  came 
we  found  the  Indians  had  crossed  the 
river  a  short  distance  up  and  were 
making  for  the  strongholds  of  the  rene- 
gade Indians. 

"We  passed  the  winter  in  peace  but 
were  very  lonesome.  In  the  spring  we 
had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  our  old 
friend,  Brother  Thales  Haskell,  Indian 
missionary  and  interpreter.  Brother 
Erastus  Snow,  hearing  in  Salt  Lake 
City  that  we  had  been  killed  by  the 
Indians,  had  sent  Brother  Haskell  to 
see  if  it  was  true,  and  if  so,  to  give  our 
bones  as  decent  a  burial  as  possible,  and 
if  not,  to  stay  until  the  second  com- 
pany came.    When  he  saw  at  a  distance 


the  smoke  coming  from  our  chimney, 
he  offered  up  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving. 
He  found  us  alive  and  well,  but  with 
very  little  to  eat.  We  were  living  on 
wheat  ground  in  a  coffee  mill.  When 
it  became  necessary,  we  would  kill  a 
milk  cow,  and  because  we  became  very 
tired  of  meat,  we  would  roast  it  over 
an  open  fire  until  it  had  lost  the  flavor 
of  meat.  We  had  looked  all  winter 
for  the  company  that  left  Cedar  in  the 
fall  to  bring  us  food.  They  had  never 
arrived  and  we  were  very  anxious  for 
their  safety.2 

"Our  wheat  gave  out,  and  Brother 
Harvey  Dunton  said  he  would  leave. 
On  cleaning  out  his  wagon  he  found 
a  little  wheat  in  a  sack,  which  he  gave 
to  us,  saying  he  had  a  good  gun  and 
would  live  on  wild  game.  Just  after  he 
left,  another  Indian  missionary  by  the 
name  of  Lewellyn  Harris  called  and  told 
us  that  the  company  would  be  there  in 
about  ten  days.  My  wife  told  him  we 
did  not  have  bread  to  last  two  days. 
He  was  hungry  and  ragged  and  wanted 
to  stay  three  days,  and  my  wife  told 
him  he  was  welcome,  but  that  she  was 
at  a  loss  to  know  what  to  give  him  to 
eat.  He  told  her  to  be  of  good  cheer,  for 
her  worst  days  were  over.  He  stayed 
his  time,  and  after  he  had  gone  I  asked 
my  wife  where  she  was  getting  the 
wheat  to  make  the  bread.  She  said 
from  the  sack  Brother  Dunton  had  left. 
I  hefted  the  sack  and  there  seemed  to 
be  as  much  as  when  he  had  left  it. 
And  again  we  knew  there  was  an  un- 
seen Hand  controlling  our  welfare. 

zSpeaking  of  the  "long,  lonesome  winter"  of  1879- 
80,  Albert  R.  Lyman  comments:  "  [The  account]  makes 
no  mention  of  the  main  event  of  the  winter,  the  coming 
of  the  four  scouts  from  Hole-in-the-Rock,  who  succeed- 
ed in  reaching  them  about  Christmas  time  and  stayed 
with  them  two  or  three  days,  telling  them  about  the 
main  company  for  whom  they  were  so  eagerly  waiting." 


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Even  a  child  can  cook  electrically  .  .  . 
safely  . . .  for  Electric  Cooking  is  as  safe 
as  Electric  Light. 

Why  not  join  the  thousands  of  home 

dwellers  who  have  changed 

to  Electric  Cooking? 

See  Your  Range  Dealer 
or  Utah  Power  &  Light  Co. 


"It  was  not  until  April  6,  1880,  that 
the  second  company  arrived,  six  months 
after  they  had  left  Cedar  City.  They 
had  spent  most  of  the  time  in  'Hole- 
in-the-Rock.'3  No  lives  had  been  lost, 
but  all  had  suffered  many  hardships 
and  were  without  food.  They  settled 
twenty  miles  down  the  river  at  a  place 
called  Bluff.    A  few  came  to  live  by  us." 

f"  ife  at  Montezuma  took  on  a  com- 
munity aspect;  a  ward  (or 
branch)  was  organized,  a  Sunday 
School  conducted;  holidays  were 
celebrated  with  a  homemade 
American  flag  fluttering  in  the 
breeze;  and  neighbors  visited  each 
other,  often  walking  many  miles. 
The  town  was  even  granted  a 
postoffice.  Brother  Davis  built  a  store 
and  bought  wool  and  buckskins 
from  the  Indians.  He  built  a  water 
wheel  and  was  the  first  to  get  water 
on  the  land.  But  the  same  water 
which  meant  life  to  the  struggling 
colonists  also  threatened  to  destroy 
them.  They  had  to  build  their 
houses  on  successively  higher 
ground.  A  flood  in  August  of  1881 
carried  the  river  a  quarter  mile  be- 
yond its  banks  to  the  Davis  thres- 
hold, where  men  watched  night  and 
day  ready  to  carry  Sister  Davis  and 
her  days-old  babe  to  safety. 

As  menacing  as  flood  was  the  con- 
stant danger  of  hostile  Indians.  One 
day  word  came  that  a  tribesman  had 
been  killed  by  the  whites  and  the 
Indians  were  seeking  revenge. 
Brother  Davis  closed  up  his  store, 
and,  strange  to  say,  was  prompted 
to  unload  his  gun.  When  the  war- 
riors came  and  found  the  store 
closed,  they  became  more  angry. 
One  raised  his  gun  to  shoot  Brother 
Davis'  son.  As  the  father  jumped 
before  the  weapon,  the  boy  reached 
for  the  family  gun — but  it  was  un- 
loaded and  the  episode  led  to  talk 
and  reconciliation  rather  than  gun- 
powder and  bloodshed. 

That  night,  while  the  family  sat 
round  the  open  fireplace,  Sister 
Davis,  ears  alert,  suddenly  slipped 
outside  to  return  as  suddenly  with 
fifteen  or  twenty  heavily  armed  war- 
riors at  her  heels.  She  had  heard 
their  approach  and  walked  quietly, 
alone,  down  a  long,  dark  bowery  to 
welcome  them.  They  wanted  to 
know  why  the  family  were  not  afraid 
of  them.  The  fearless  reply  that 
the  family  firmly  believed  good 
would  be  returned  for  good  seemed 
to  please  the  Indians.    Fed  and  ap- 

8See  The  Improvement  Era  for  January,   1940,  page 


54 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,    JANUARY,    1941 


Five  Years  on  the 
San  Juan 

peased,  they  shook  hands,  told  the 
family  to  stay  within  their  own  fence 
for  safety,  and  departed  good 
friends. 

Such  was  the  daily  fare  at  Monte- 
zuma on  the  San  Juan,  a  country 
which  even  the  cliff-dwellers  ages 
ago  had  found  hard.  A  fulness  of 
affliction  came  in  mid-year  in  1884, 
when  the  banks  of  the  steadily  ris- 
ing river  gave  way  and  destroyed  the 
settlement. 

"Higher  and  higher  it  came  until  all 
but  Brother  Haskell's  and  our  home 
had  gone  with  the  rushing  water.  In 
the  midst  of  the  flood  could  be  seen 
houses,  furniture,  everything  that  goes 
to  make  a  home.  Even  dogs  and  cats 
were  trying  to  climb  their  own  homes. 
All  we  had  gained  in  our  five  years  of 
hard  labor  and  suffering  was  swept 
away  in  a  single  night.  In  one  week's 
time  our  beautiful  crops  were  reduced 
to  sand  bars." 

Concluding  his  account,  James 
Davis  has  written : 

"We  never  set  foot  on  our  land 
again.  After  receiving  our  release  we 
were  compelled  to  leave  our  home  and 
store  just  as  they  stood.  Again  we 
traveled  through  some  very  rough 
country.  We  camped  on  the  banks 
of  the  Grand  River  one  week.  There 
was  only  a  row  boat  to  take  six  or  eight 
wagons  over  the  wide  and  swift  river. 
The  wagons  were  taken  apart,  and  a 
wheel  at  a  time  was  taken.  We  came 
through  Salt  Lake  and  Cache  Valley 
and  up  through  Logan  Canyon.  As 
my  wife  looked  down  on  beautiful  Bear 
Lake,  she  was  filled  with  fear.  Ex- 
perience had  taught  her  to  have  a  great 
dread  of  water.  However,  on  coming 
down  into  the  valley,  we  found  it  to 
be  perfectly  calm  and  safe,  very  much 
unlike  the  water  we  had  left." 

"Calm  and  safe" — that  was  the 
most  appealing  aspect  of  their  new 
life  in  Paris,  Idaho,  first  on  a  hun- 
dred-and-sixty-acre  farm  and  finally 
in  a  comfortable  home  established 
in  town.  James  and  Mary  Davis 
passed  the  remaining  years  tran- 
quilly, years  filled  with  the  satis- 
faction of  knowing  they  had  an- 
swered the  calls  made  upon  them. 
James  Davis  died  February  1,  1920, 
and  his  wife  eight  years  later,  on  No- 
vember 20,  1 928.  Characteristically, 
James  Davis  left  to  his  family  "the 
history  of  the  principal  events  of  my 
life  so  that  when  I  pass  away,  it  may, 
I  hope,  strengthen  their  faith  in  the 
Gospel  of  Christ." 


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THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,     JANUARY,     1941 


January 
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Convenient  Terms 

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Salt  Lake — Ogden — Provo 
Serving  23  Utah  Communities 


SETTLEMENT 


( Concluded  from  page  9 ) 
average,  than  the  men  who  do  not. 
I  believe  that  to  those  who  are  lib- 
eral the  Lord  gives  ideas,  and  they 
grow  in  capacity  and  ability  more 
rapidly  than  those  that  are  stingy. 
I  have  that  faith,  and  I  have  had  it 
from  the  time  I  was  a  boy. 

I  believe  there  is  a  great  deal  in  the 
story  that  some  of  you  may  have 
read,  in  which  a  donation  was  re- 
quested, and  a  man  decided  to  give 
a  ham.  He  had  a  smoke-house  full 
of  hams  and  he  had  decided  to  give 
a  ham  to  some  poor  person  that 
needed  a  donation.  When  he  went 
in  there,  he  picked  out  a  nice  large 
ham,  and  the  spirit  came  over  him, 
"Now,  that  is  a  big  ham;  you  don't 
need  to  give  that  person  such  a  large 
ham;  give  him  a  little  one."  He  said, 
"Shut  up,  Mr.  Devil,  or  I  will  give 
him  two  hams,"  so  he  had  no  more 
trouble — none  whatever. 

I  heard  a  story  of  a  brother  (I 
have  forgotten  his  name  now)  who 
attended  a  meeting  in  the  early  days. 
President  Brigham  Young  made  an 
appeal  for  donations  to  send  to  the 
Missouri  River  to  help  the  Saints 
gather  to  Zion.  He  wanted  every- 
body who  could  afford  it,  to  give  an 
ox  or  a  cow  or  any  other  donation. 
One  good  brother  jumped  up  and 
said,  "I  will  give  a  cow."  Another 
brother  got  up  and  said,  "I  will  give 
a  cow."  The  first  brother  had  two 
cows  and  a  large  family;  the  other 
brother  had  a  half-dozen  cows  and  a 
small  family.  And,  so  the  spirit 
came  over  the  first  man,  "Now,  look 
here,  you  cannot  get  along  with  your 


large  family;  you  cannot  possibly  get 
along  with  one  cow.  Now.  that 
other  man  has  got  a  small  family 
and  six  cows;  he  could  just  as  well 
give  two  or  three  and  still  get  along 
all  right."  As  he  started  home,  he 
walked  four  or  five  blocks,  all  the 
time  getting  weaker  and  weaker. 
Finally  he  thought,  "I  guess  I 
won't,"  and  then  he  realized  the  dif- 
ference in  the  spirit  that  was  tempt- 
ing him  and  the  one  that  had 
prompted  his  promise  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Church  that  he  would 
give  a  cow.  Here  was  a  spirit  telling 
him  to  fail  to  fulfill  his  obligation,  to 
fail  to  be  honest,  to  fail  to  live  up  to 
his  promise.  He  stopped  short  and 
turned  around  and  said,  "Mr.  Devil, 
shut  up  or  just  as  sure  as  I  live,  I  will 
walk  up  to  Brother  Brigham's  office 
and  give  him  the  other  cow."  He  was 
not  tempted  any  more. 

Now,  every  Latter-day  Saint 
ought  to  be  a  lifter  and  not  a  leaner. 
I  believe  that  we  are  indebted  to  our 
Heavenly  Father  for  the  faculties 
with  which  we  are  endowed.  But 
for  the  blessings  of  the  Lord  we 
could  accomplish  nothing  in  this 
world.  Believing  that  we  owe  all 
to  our  Heavenly  Father  and  that  He 
has  required  us  to  show  our  appre- 
ciation and  gratitude  in  a  financial 
way  for  all  that  we  do  and  all  that 
we  accomplish  in  the  battle  of  life  by 
returning  to  Him  one  tenth  of  that 
which  He  gives  us  the  ability  to  earn, 
we  show  lack  of  gratitude  when  we 
fail  to  do  this.  I  believe  the  liberal 
man  divineth  liberal  things. 


EVIDENCES  AND  RECONCILIATIONS 


(Continued  from  page  33) 
the  divine  stamp  of  approval.  Reve- 
lation may  be  received  in  various 
ways  ( See  Improvement  Era,  Nov., 
1938);  but  it  always  presupposes 
that  the  revelator  has  so  lived  and 
conducted  himself  as  to  be  in  tune 
or  harmony  with  the  divine  spirit  of 
revelation,  the  spirit  of  truth,  and 
therefore  capable  of  receiving  divine 
messages. 

In  summary:  A  prophet  is  a 
teacher  of  known  truth;  a  seer  is  a 
perceiver  of  hidden  truth;  a  reve- 
lator is  a  bearer  of  new  truth.  In 
the  widest  sense,  the  one  most  com- 
monly used,  the  title  prophet  in- 
cludes the  other  titles  and  makes  of 
the  prophet  a  teacher,  perceiver,  and 
bearer  of  truth. 


56 


These  titles  imply  that  those  who 
bear  them  have  faith  in  a  living  God, 
who  bestows  upon  His  children  eter- 
nal truth  for  their  good.  These  titles 
imply  also  that  the  children  of  men 
are  capable  of  receiving  and  obey- 
ing such  truth.  One  who  bears  the 
title  of  prophet,  and  they  who  sustain 
him  as  such,  are  first  of  all  believers 
in  God,  and  in  a  divine  plan  of  sal- 
vation for  the  human  family;  and, 
secondly,  they  commit  themselves  to 
the  task  of  bringing  to  pass  the  pur- 
poses of  the  Almighty.  Were  it  not 
so,  the  title  "prophet,  seer,  and 
revelator"  would  be  empty,  hollow 
words.  As  it  is,  they  are  clarion  calls 
of  the  Church  of  Christ  to  a  world 
walking  in  the  dim  shadows  of  un- 
derstanding.— /.  A.  W. 


Sweet  and  Sophisticated 

(Continued  from  page  25) 
stairway  and  saw  her — caught  his 
breath  at  her  modest  matureness. 

She  was  lovely  in  a  Grecian 
drape,  silver-metal  gown,  with 
matching  silver  slippers,  twinkling 
down  the  oaken  stairs.  Gordon's 
violets  caught  near  her  white  throat, 
were  the  true  deep  color  of  her  eyes 
— though  Bruce  Gordon  could  not 
determine  them  now,  for  she  wore 
the  silver  half-mask  that  he  had  sent 
with  the  violets, 

A  small  silver  bracelet  on  her 
delicately  rounded  arm  and  the 
pearls  at  her  ears  were  the  only 
jewelry  that  she  wore.  Her  hair,  un- 
der the  lights,  was  molded  gold. 
Loosely  over  her  arm  she  held  silk- 
en gloves  and  a  silver  cape. 

The  judge  introduced  Gordon 
then,  only  as  the  "Mystery  Man." 
He  might  have  been  one  of  many 
tall,  dark-haired  young  men  whom 
Mary  knew — but  his  voice  held  her 
unknowing. 

Coming  toward  them  she  gave 
Bruce  Gordon  her  hand,  saying, 
with  a  smile,  "Good  evening,  Mister 
— Mystery  Man." 

Bruce  Gordon  laughingly  answer- 
ed, "And  to  you — Miss  Mystery. 
May  we  hurry  on,  please,  I'm  afraid 
we've  missed  several  of  the  skits  al- 
ready." 

Then  he  was  placing  the  silver 
cape  about  her  shoulders.  At  the 
curb  a  taxicab  was  waiting. 

/it  the  gay  Arts  Masque, 
well  under  way,  when  Bruce  and 
Mary  and  the  Judge  arrived,  the  two 
were  drawn  into  the  laughing,  tur- 
bulent, colorful  maelstrom  that 
slowly  swirled  around  the  ballroom 
of  the  new  Art  Lodge. 

Tonight  it  was  exotically  aglow 
with  the  low  lights  of  tasseled  ori- 
ental lamps  and  swaying  Chinese 
lanterns  overhead.  From  a  grove  of 
papier-mache  palms,  the  orchestra 
was  playing  softly,  and  a  romantic 
tenor  was  singing  the  theme — 

After  the  Masquerade's  o'er, 

After  the  dance  is  done, 

How    many   vows   will  be   made,    there, 

How  many  hearts  beat  as  one? 

After  the  dancers  unmask,  when 

True  lover's  pledges  are  asked, 

How  many  romances  will  last,  then, 

Af-ter   the  Mas-que-rade? 

The  music  stilled  to  silence  and 

at  the  drummer's  crash  of  cymbals, 

the  dancing  couples  turned  for  the 

announcement  from  the  master  of 

(Continued  on  page  58) 


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SWEET  AND  SOPHISTICATED 


(Continued  from  page  57) 
ceremonies — a  gay  Bohemian  in  ar- 
tist smock,  beret,  and  pantaloons. 

A  contest  dance — he  was  saying. 
The  best  pair  of  dancers — to  be 
chosen — by  the  applause  of  the  au- 
dience. His  voice  trailed  off,  "On 
with  the  dance — " 

The  orchestra  struck  up  the  theme 
waltz  again — "After  the  Masque- 
rade's o'er — After  the  dance  is 
done — " 

It  was  all  grand  fun.     Oh,  the 


thrill  of  sensing  how  perfectly  you 
two  were  gliding  among  the  throng, 
his  masked  eyes  lowered  attentively 
as  he  smiled  as  you  floated  on  wing- 
ed slippers — to  triumph! 

Soon  there  were  only  a  dozen, 
then  four  couples,  besides  Mary  and 
Bruce,  left  on  the  floor.  Mary  rec- 
ognized several  of  the  dancers — 
girls  and  fellows  whom  she  had 
known  in  school  and  college. 

In  costume,  they  were  paired — a 
high-hatted     Beau     Brummel     and 


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Sturdy  steel  frame. 

Oliver  "Fuel-Miser"  governor  control 
cuts  fuel  costs.  Control  beneath 
steering  wheel. 

High  clearance  for  late  cultivation. 
Exclusive  centrally  mounted  plant- 
ers  and   cultivators. 

Comfortable  upholstered  seat,  high  up 
for  greater  visibility. 

Clear  platform  with  plenty  of  room  to 
stand  on. 

Finger-Tip  Control  —  controls  easily 
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Four  Speeds  Forward,   one  in   reverse. 

Streamlined  tapered  hood  for  greater 
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Power  Lift  and  Power  Take-Off  avail- 
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Two-Speed  belt  pulley  can  be  furn- 
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Hood  sides,  force  feed  engine  lubrica- 
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beauteous  Madame  Pompadour. 
Dangerous  dance  rivals,  indeed! 
None  other,  in  fact,  than  the  cam- 
pus favorites  of  a  year  gone,  who 
had  once  said  that  you  had  to  "pet" 
to  get  a  date. 

Mary's  heart  throbbed  faster  and 
faster  as  the  critical  handclappings 
of  the  audience  honored  them  above 
the  others.  Oh!  the  ecstacy  of  this 
evening! 

Deliberately,  seeming  unaware  of 
their  selection,  Gordon  danced  with 
Mary  to  the  farther  end  of  the  hall 
— and  lost  himself  and  his  partner 
in  a  crowd  of  merrymakers  passing 
downstairs  to  the  Trophy  Room. 
From  every  side  they  were  hailed 
with  congratulations,  and  soon  the 
master  of  ceremonies  himself  had 
sought  them  out  for  presentation  as 
the  winners  of  the  contest  dance. 

In  the  ballroom  again, 
with  the  group  of  other  event  win- 
ners, near  the  orchestra,  Bruce 
drew  Mary  into  the  seclusion  of  the 
paper-palms  and  handing  her  an 
envelope  he  said  quietly, 

"Before  we  unmask,  Mary,  I  be- 
lieve this  letter  will  explain  every- 
thing. You  will  have  time  to  read  it 
now." 

She  opened  it  wonderingly.  There 
was  a  notation  that  she  read  first: 

Dear  Miss  Mary  McKean: 

I  have  presumed  to  answer  your  recent 
letter  to  the  Heartthrob's  column — tonight, 
in  person! 

For  a  time,  please  understand,  I  am  the 
authorized    "answer-man"    for    The    Call, 

Miss  Constance  C and  her  secretary 

having  been  unavoidably  detained  out  of 
the  city,  while  on  a  trip,  by  a  snow-storm. 
Consequently  I  was  the  one  assigned  to 
"carry  on"  for  them  until  their  return  here. 

If  I  have  overstepped  my  authorized 
bounds,  please  forgive  my   trespass. 

Believe  me,  your  sincere,  "answer-man," 

Bruce  Gordon. 

It  was  written  on  The  Call's 
"Heartthrobs  and  Problems"  letter- 
head, and  Mary  caught  her  breath 
in  a  little  gasp  of  surprise — and 
quickly  looked  up  at  Bruce  Gordon. 
He  was  smiling,  but  his  masked  eyes 
told  her  nothing. 

Even  when,  later,  Mary  looked 
into  the  steady,  deep  brown  eyes  of 
Bruce  Gordon,  as  they  unmasked, 
she  was  not  more  thrilled,  or  the 
moment  when  Judge  Landor  grasp- 
ed a  hand  of  each  of  them  in  con- 
gratulations, in  the  happy  moments 
when  surprised  friends  were  crowd- 
ing around  them  in  warm  praise.  Or 
during  the  grand  march  when  she 


58 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,     JANUARY,    1941 


SWEET  AND  SOPHISTICATED 


strolled  proudly  around  the  room  on 
the  arm  of  Bruce  Gordon.  None  of 
those  events  were  dearer  in  her 
memory  than  when  she  first  read 
Bruce  Gordon's  letter. 

Her  eyes  were  misted  with  happy 
tears  as  she  read: 

"Dear  Mary: 

"Words  are  deceitful  things,  sometimes 
— and  very  often  we're  misled  by  them — 
until  we  discover  their  true  meanings. 

"If  'sophistication*  did  mean  being  smart 
and  chic  and  very  wise — then,  my  dear, 
I'm  sure  I  might  call  you  by  that  name. 
True,  as  you've  written,  persons  so  often 
mistake  the  word  for  expressing  just  those 
things. 

"But  my  dictionary  says  sophistication 
is:  "(a)  The  use  of,  or  deception  by,  so- 
phistry; a  leading,  or  going  astray  by  or 
as  by  sophistic  reasoning,  (b)  State  of  be- 
ing involved,  or  subtle;  state  of  being 
without  directness,  simplicity,  or  natural- 
ness; artificiality.' 

"So,  you  see,  I  must  know  you  only  by 
your  own  lovely  name  of  Mary. 

"It  is  truly  unfortunate  that  you  should 
have  experienced  only  the  'sophisticated' 
kind  of  parties — though  I  know  they  are 
many  times  indulged  in  by  the  'very  best' 
of  fellows  and  girls. 

"But,  Mary,  I  know,  and  you  will  too, 
that  there  are  as  many  fine,  gay,  'good' 
parties  given— and  by  just  as  many  fine 
young  people  of  this  day  and  age — as  ever. 

"You'll  protest,  I  know,  and  I  admire  you 
for    your    loyalty,    that    your    closest    girl 


chums  and  the  fellows  you  think  most  of 
are  indulgers  in  the  things  that  you  have 
shown  you  dislike.  Even — you'd  rather 
tolerate  their  failings  than  give  up  those 
dear  friends  you've  been  'pals'  with  since 
earliest  school  days. 

"Oh,  you  won't  have  to  give  them  up; 
show  them  up!  Many  of  them  you  can  win 
over  to  your  side  of  the  argument.  So  many 
of  them  do  those  things,  anyway,  merely 
because  they  think  it  smart — 'sophisticated.' 

"Dainty  fingers  toy  with  a  long  holder 
with  its  pungent  burning  cigarette.  Overly 
lipsticked  lips  sip  a  wine  or  gulp  a  spoon- 
ful of  whiskey — like  a  medicine — for  that's 
supposed  to  be  the  'swanky'  thing  to  do. 

"That's  the  start  of  true  sophistication, 
in  its  ugliest  definition.  Stupid,  silly  ges- 
tures. Certainly  nothing  smart  about  it — 
deliberately  drugging  oneself. 

"What  is  a  fellow's  ideal  of  a  girl?  It  is 
essentially  the  same  now  as  in  every  other 
age.  His  desires  are  for  a  feminine  compan- 
ion. For  home — family — and  fireside  friend- 
ships, first,  for  pursuits  which  he  enjoys 
doing  and  which  his  wife  will  enthusiastic- 
ally share  with  him,  for  pleasures  that  he 
can  enjoy  with  her;  out-of-doors  sports — 
social  entertainments — the  arts — and  re- 
ligion. 

"All  of  a  fellow's  associations  with  a 
girl  lead  ultimately  to  a  consideration  of 
these  things — or  should.  They  are  the  un- 
tarnishable  gold  nuggets  of  life  that  he 
finds — and  refines. 

"The   synthetic   pleasures — the    artificial 
sophistications  that  he  indulges  in  are  only 
the  worthless  lumps  of  fool's  gold. 
"Sincerely, 

"Bruce  Gordon." 


♦  « 


ORRIN  PORTER  ROCKWELL 


(Continued  from  page  15) 
chance  would  fail.  I  will  mention  therefore 
only  a  few  of  them,  as  emblematic  of  those 
who  are  too  numerous  to  be  written.  But 
there  is  one  man  I  would  mention,  namely, 
Orrin  Porter  Rockwell,  who  is  now  a  fellow 
wanderer  with  myself,  an  exile  from  his 
home,  because  of  the  murderous  deeds  and 
the  infernal,  fiendish  dispositions  of  the  in- 
defatigable and  unrelenting  hand  of  the 
Missourians. 

He  is  an  innocent  and  noble  boy;  may 
God  almighty  deliver  him  from  the  hands 
of  his  pursuers.  He  is  an  innocent  and 
noble  child,  and  my  soul  loves  him.  Let 
this  be  recorded  for  ever  and  ever.  Let 
the  blessings  of  salvation  and  honor  be  his 
portion.8 

Pouring  the  year  1844,  persecution 
became  so  intense  that  the 
Prophet  felt  if  he  were  out  of  the 
way  his  enemies  would  be  satisfied 
to  the  extent  that  the  Saints  could 
live  in  more  peace.  It  was  for  this 
reason  that  Joseph  decided  to  go 
west,  the  Church  to  follow  later. 
One  of  the  three  men  out  of  the  en- 
tire body  of  the  Church  whom  the 
Prophet  asked  to  accompany  him  on 
this  journey  was  Porter  Rockwell. 
But  when  a  few,  including  his  wife, 

•Joseph  Smith  III,  (the  Prophet's  son).  Journal 
History,  "What  Do  I  Remember  of  Nauvoo."  (Of 
the  Reorganized  Church).  Vol.  3,  pp.  138-142. 
Lamoni,    Iowa,    1910. 


Emma,  intimated  that  it  was  cow- 
ardly, Joseph  said: 

"If  my  life  is  of  no  value  to  my 
friends,  it  is  of  none  to  myself." 

He  then  turned  to  Porter  and 
asked,  "What  shall  I  do?" 

Porter  replied,  "You  are  the  old- 
est, and  ought  to  know  best:  and  as 
you  make  your  bed,  I  will  lie  with 
you." 

Two  days  before  Joseph  was 
murdered,  he  sent  a  message  to 
Porter  from  his  prison  cell  in  Carth- 
age, urging  Rockwell  to  remain  in 
Nauvoo  and  not  permit  himself  to 
be  captured  by  his  enemies  again. 

One  afternoon  about  three  o'clock 
— it  was  the  day  the  Prophet  was 
murdered,  June  27th — Porter  was 
making  his  way  up  a  stairway  in  the 
Mansion  House.  He  had  left  his 
hat  in  an  upper  room.  As  he  en- 
tered, he  was  surprised  to  find  the 
room  occupied  by  Governor  Ford 
of  Illinois  and  a  few  of  his  militia 
officers.  The  men  were  all  sitting 
silently  except  the  governor.  The 
latter  was  standing  behind  a  chair 
making  a  speech.  Just  as  Porter  en- 
tered the  room  the  governor's  hand 
(Continued  on  page  60) 


at  9  JUL  (BsAt- 

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OMRTER 

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THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,     JANUARY,     1941 


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60 


OGDEN.    UTAH 


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ORRIN  PORTER  ROCKWELL 


{Continued  from  page  59) 

dropped  from  an  uplifted  position 
with  these  words:  "The  deed  is 
done  before  this  time." 

All  was  suddenly  quiet  when 
Rockwell  walked  in.  He  hastily  left 
again.  The  full  meaning  of  these 
words  did  not  impress  themselves  on 
Porter  for  an  hour  or  more.  Then 
he  suddenly  realized  the  treachery  of 
Ford.  He  leaped  on  his*. horse  and 
accompanied  by  Gilbert  Belnap, 
sped  for  Cavthage.  But  it  was  too 
late.  Governor  Ford  had  deliber- 
ately left  Carthage  for  Nauvoo  with 
his  militia.  This  left  the  way  open 
for  the  bloodthirsty  Carthage  Greys 
to  do  their  murderous  deed.  They 
killed  Joseph  and  Hyrum  Smith,  his 
brother,  about  five  p.  m.  of  that  day. 

As  Porter  and  Belnap  neared 
Carthage  they  saw  a  man  coming  in 
a  buggy  at  full  speed.  He  was  a 
Mormon  who  had  been  near  Car- 
thage, and  who,  when  he  saw  what 
was  happening,  and  turned  and  fled, 
but  not  before  the  mob  had  spied 


him  and  some  on  horseback  had  come 
in  pursuit.  Porter  and  Belnap  dis- 
mounted and  with  their  rifles  drove 
the  mob  back.* 

The  man  in  the  buggy  reported 
what  had  happened,  and  Porter  re- 
turned to  Nauvoo,  a  broken-hearted 
man. 

The  oldest  son  of  the  Prophet, 
who  was  at  this  time  but  a  boy,  was 
very  fond  of  Rockwell.  He  sought 
every  opportunity  to  be  near  him. 
It  was  just  at  dusk  that  he  saw  Porter 
coming  up  the  street  from  the  hotel. 
The  boy  was  standing  in  the  door- 
yard  in  front  of  the  house  by  Water 
Street.  Young  Joseph  climbed  over 
the  fence  to  meet  Porter.  As  he 
stood  before  him,  Rockwell  could 
not  compose  himself.  He  broke  into 
tears  and  sobbed,  "Oh  Joseph,  Jos- 
eph, they  have  killed  the  only  friend 
I  ever  had."5 

( To  be  Continued) 

^Gilbert  Belnap,  Private  Journal,  Ogden,  Utah; 
unpublished. 

BJoseph  Smith  (son  of  the  Prophet)  op.  cit..  Vol.  3. 
pp.  46-47;  138-148. 


WELLSPRINGS  OF  LIFE 


( Continued  from  page  1 1 ) 
to  go  to  Cache  Valley.  As  they 
camped  at  the  forks  of  the  road, 
waiting  for  some  team  that  was  go- 
ing north  with  whom  they  could 
travel,  a  man  with  an  ox-team, 
coming  from  Salt  Lake,  approached. 
The  mother  said  to  her  husband: 
"Thomas,  do  you  see  that  man  com- 
ing? That  man  is  going  to  be  Mag- 
gie's husband."  Maggie  was  her 
eldest,  her  thirteen-and-a-half-year- 
old  daughter.  The  father  said:  "Oh, 
woman,  you  don't  know  what  you 
are  talking  about.  You  don't  know 
who  the  man  is,  and  she  is  only  a 
child."  "That  is  all  right,"  she  said: 
"You  will  see,  he  will  become  Mag- 
gie's husband."  He  was  twenty-five 
years  of  age.  He  was  single,  all 
right.  Yes,  he  lived  in  Cache  Val- 
ley. He  had  been  to  conference. 
He  was  on  his  way  back,  and 
would  be  glad  to  travel  with  them. 

It  took  three  days,  in  that  time, 
to  make  that  journey  We  make  it  in 
about  two  hours,  now.  They  form- 
ed the  acquaintance.  Although  she 
was  young,  she  was  mature,  be- 
cause, being  the  eldest  in  the  fam- 
ily, she  had  carried  the  responsibil- 
ity of  driving  the  cow  for  the  milk 
for  the  rest  of  the  children,  carry- 
ing her  little  brother  on  her  back. 
She  was  mature  beyond  her  years. 

Girls  were  a  bit  scarce  in  Cache 
Valley,   so  the  next  year   the  ac- 


quaintance ripened  into  a  friend- 
ship, and  then  a  courtship,  and  fi- 
nally, quite  unlike  boys  do  now,  he 
went  to  talk  it  over  with  her  father 
first.  The  father  said:  "Well,  I  have 
no  objection  to  you,  but  I  need  the 
help  of  the  girl.  She  is  working  in 
the  home  and  cooking  for  a  group 
of  men"  (the  men  who  built  the 
first  saw-mill  in  Logan).  "If  I  may 
have  her  help  for  two  years,  I 
would  be  on  my  feet  and  be  able  to 
get  along,  and  she  would  be  older 
and  better  able  to  be  a  wife."  She 
was  fifteen  and  a  half  years  old 
then. 

But  the  man  said:  "That's  all 
right,  but  I  am  old  enough,  twenty- 
seven  now,  and  in  addition  to  that 
I  have  been  made  a  bishop,  and  a 
bishop  ought  to  be  a  married  man. 
She  wouldn't  have  to  work  any 
harder  for  me  than  she  is  working 
for  you,  but  I  don't  want  to  rob 
you.  The  only  thing  in  the  way  is 
the  help  she  gives  you.  How  much 
does  she  earn?"  "Two  dollars  a 
week."  "Well,"  he  said,  "I'll  tell 
you.  1*11  pay  you.  You  say  you  need 
her  help  for  two  years.  I  will  pay 
you  two  dollars  a  week  for  two 
years." 

It  was  agreed  upon.  They  were 
married,  and  lived  happily  ever 
afterwards.  The  man  was  my  fa- 
ther.   The  woman  was  my  mother. 


THE    IMPROVEMENT    ERA,     JANUARY,    1941 


Wellsprings  of  Life 

Now,  isn't  that  romance?  Here 
is  a  little  English  boy  that  left  his 
home  in  England,  drove  a  herd  of 
sheep  across  the  plains,  and  met, 
on  a  country  road  in  western  Amer- 
ica, a  Scotch  girl  who  had  made 
a  remarkable  journey.  How  far 
would  you  go  to  meet  the  right  boy? 
How  far  would  you  go,  my  young 
brother,  to  meet  the  right  girl?  That 
far?  Yes,  I  am  sure  you  would. 
Why?  Why  did  the  Lord  bring  our 
fathers  and  mothers  from  the  ends 
of  the  earth?  To  give  their  children 
the  opportunity  to  find  companion- 
ships in  the  faith  and  in  the  House 
of  Israel.  The  Jewish  boys  and  girls, 
though  widely  scattered  over  the 
face  of  the  earth,  nevertheless,  be- 
cause of  the  promise  made  to  their 
father  Judah — namely,  that  through 
him  or  his  posterity  the  King,  the 
Messiah,  the  Leader  of  Israel 
should  come — eighty  per  cent  of 
them  marry  within  their  own  faith; 
for  if  they  should  marry  out  of  their 
faith,  marry  out  of  their  nation,  that 
blessing  would  never  come  to  their 
posterity.  There  is  justification 
for  it. 

You  sons  and  daughters  of  that 
Joseph,  the  brother  of  Judah,  whose 
blessings  were  so  much  superior 
that  his  brethren  sold  him  into 
Egypt,  to  get  rid  of  him — have  you 
any  reason  why  you  should  find, 
like  Abraham's  son,  Isaac,  a  wife  or 
a  husband  in  the  faith?  That  is  the 
very  purpose  or  one  of  the  great 
purposes  for  which  the  Lord 
brought  our  fathers  and  mothers 
from  the  ends  of  the  earth,  to  give 
you  the  chance  to  find  suitable  com- 
panionships. What  for?  To  fulfill 
His  great  purpose  to  establish  here 
a  race  of  men  and  women,  I  say,  the 
like  of  which  the  world  has  never 
yet  seen;  but  you  shall  never  do  it 
living  like  the  world. 


My  dear  young  brethren  and 
sisters,  I  promise  you  that  if  you 
will  subscribe  to  the  Gospel  stand- 
ards of  purity  of  life,  if  you  will 
be  willing  to  follow  the  suggestions 
of  those  who  love  you,  to  find  com- 
panionship within  the  pale  of  the 
Church,  and  take  advantage  of  the 
glorious  opportunity  the  Church 
offers  you  to  make  your  marriage 
the  most  secure  marriage  there  is 
in  this  world,  you  will  be  grateful 
and  blessed  beyond  your  power  of 
expression,  and  oh,  how  important 
that  is  in  an  age  that  is  showing  a 
(Concluded  on  page  63) 


*w«y,  THIS  IS 

ABOUT  MEr 

says  Elsie,  the  Borden  cow 

Yes— whole  books  could  be 
written  about  the  care  and 
thoroughness  of  the  Borden 
system  of  quality  control. 

On  the  farm,  at  the  plant 
— the  slogan  is  the  same:  "If 
It's  Borden's,  it's  got  to  be 
good." 

So  look  for  the  Borden  St.  Charles  label. 
Buy  several  cans  of  this  fine  evaporated 
milk  today.  It's  irradiated  with  vitamin  D. 

if  its  Tknfonti- 

IT'S  GOT  TO  BE  G009 


/  GST  GO  MANY 
COMPLIMENTS   ON  MY 

BANANA- NUT  CAKE 

NOW/ 


It's  easy  to  bate  cakes  thai  win  praise 
when  you  use  Globe  "Al"  Special  Cake 
Flour!  Try  it  for  this  famous  Banana-Nut 
Cake.  See  how  tende  and  light  your 
cake  turns  out!  See  how  much  longer 
it  stays  fresh  and  moist! 


RECIPE  ON  PACKAGE 

Buy  a  package  of  Globe  "Al" 
Special  Cake  Flour  today.  Delight 
the  family  with  this  Banana-Nut 
Cake  tomorrow! 


ID    IADUL/U  ^JUMMjuA^    and  loved  ones  away  from  home — 

There  is  no  better  way  of  keeping  them  close  to  home  and  church  ties. 

Send  the  ERA 


61 


THE     IMPROVEMENT     ERA,    JANUARY,    1941 


SOLUTION  OF  DECEMBER  PUZZLE 


Scriptural  Crossword  Puzzle-Israel's  Deliverers 

"Nevertheless  the  Lord  raised  up  judges,  which  delivered  them  out  o/  the 
hand  of  those  that  spoiled  them."  (Judges  2:16.) 


CDOC=>OCZ>OCZ>OCZ30C=>OCZ>OC30<rz>0 

CL 

Tn  Keep  Your  Current 
Magazines . . . 

A  Mew  and  Practical 
Binding  Development 

Here  is  a  new  and  convenient 
way  to  keep  your  magazines  as 
they  come  in,  orderly  and  readily 
accessible.  It  consists  of  a  durable, 
attractive  cover,  so  devised  that 
twelve  issues  of  THE  IMPROVE- 
MENT ERA  can  readily  be  placed 
therein,  ready  for  convenient  read- 
ing. 

This  binder  eliminates  the  con- 
fusion on  your  reading  table  which 
is  likely  to  result  when  your  various 
current  magazines  are  left  to  lie 
about  loose. 

We  can  supply  covers  for  hold- 
ing twelve  current  issues  of  any 
Church  publication,  (and  other 
publications  as  well),  at  surpris- 
ingly low  prices. 

Write  for  further  information,  or 
call  at  our  office  for  a  demonstra- 
tion. 


Q/he  LOeseret  ft 


ews 


ress  .  .  . 

29  Richards  Street 
Salt  Lake  City 


i 


there     was    an 


of 


thee 


62 


'And     when 
made" 
7  Greek  letter 

12  "And  .  .  .  Gideon  was  come" 

13  "sword     of  .  .  .  Lord,      and 

Gideon" 

15  "O  .  .  .  God,  remember  me" 

16  American  actress 

18  Lost 

20  "for   this   cause   have   I 

up" 

21  "head  and  captain  over  .  .  ." 

22  "Give  ...  a  blessing" 

23  North  central  state 

24  Not  cooked 

26  "came  ...  to   her  for  judgment" 
28  Old  Testament  book 
30  Unless 

32  Shelter 

33  "Now    there     was  .  .  .  appointed 

sign" 

34  ".  .  .  shall  I  be  weak" 

35  "Out     of  .  .  .  eater     came     forth 

meat" 

DOWN 

1  "and  his  master  shall  bore  his  ear       27  Featherlike 

through  with  an  .  .  ."  (var.) 

2  "Jesus  stood  on  the  ..." 

3  Bristle 

4  Against 

5  Army  officer 

6  Dull,  heavy  sound 

8  Valley     in     which     David     killed 

Goliath 

9  "...  of  pleasures  more  than  .  .  . 

of  God" 

10  Genus  of  trees;  mater  (anag.) 

11  "Ye  shall  not  .  .  .  unto  the  word 

which  I  command  you" 

14  Printer's  measure 
17  "he  planteth  an  .  .  ." 

19  Scaffold 

22  "make  ...  of  thy  name" 

23  "an  .  .  .  soul  shall  suffer  hunger" 

25  "thy  love  to   me  was  .      .  ,  pass- 

ing the  love  of  women" 

26  "meet  for  the  master's  .  .  ." 


had    said    unto 


ACROSS 

.  .       37  "did    as    the  . 
him" 

39  "The  Lord  .  .  .  with  thee" 

40  "I  will  put  my  hook  in  thy  .  .  ." 

43  "until    the    day    that  .  .  .  entered 
into  the  ark" 

44  "And  it  ...  a  custom  in  Israel" 

45  Shamgar   slew   600   men   ".  .  .  an 
ox  goad" 

47  Elder 

48  Cleaner 

50  Ruthenium 

51  Swedish  measure;  reference 

52  "And  .  .  .  land     had     rest     forty 
years" 

53  "the  Lord  the  .  .  .  be  .  .  .  this  day" 

55  Note;  state 

56  Bird  with  single  repeated  note 

57  Warble 


Our  Text  from  Judges  is  12,  13,  15, 
20,  21,  26,  28,  34,  35,  37,  44,  45, 
52,  and  53  combined 


28  Smallest  particles 

29  Fish 

31  Monogram  for  Jesus 

33  "after  Abimelech  there  ...  to  de- 
fend Israel  Tola  the  son  of 
Puah" 

36  Chop 

38  "Then    sang    Deborah    and    Barak 

the    son    of    Abinoam  .   .   .  that 

day" 

41  Chemical  suffix 

42  ".  .  .  to  shew  thyself  approved 
unto  God" 

44  Siamese  measure;  reversed,  a  tree 
46  Son  of  Caleb  1  Chron.  4:  15 
49  Greek  letter 
51   "fair  weather:  for  the  sky  is  ... ' 

53  Sweetheart  (Scot.) 

54  "and  said,  ...  in  this  thy  might 
and  thou  shalt  save  Israel" 


THE  IMPROVEMENT  ERA,  JANUARY,  1941 


Wellsprings  of  Life 

(Concluded  from  page  61) 
divorce  rate  the   highest  that   the 
world  has  ever  known.  .  .  . 

I  plead  with  you  that  as  you 
contemplate  this  you  contemplate 
also  the  high  and  holy  purpose  of 
marriage  itself,  not  the  childless 
marriage,  that  leads  often  to  quick 
and  easy  divorce,  but  that  you  will 
contemplate  the  sacred  and  holy  re- 
sponsibility, under  this  divine  order 
God  has  established,  to  bring  to 
pass  the  immortality  of  those  glori- 
ous sons  and  daughters  of  God  that 
still  cry  about  His  throne  for  this 
earth  life  and  its  opportunities:  that 
we  shall  not  use  these  glorious 
powers  with  which  God  has  en- 
dowed us  to  reproduce  ourselves, 
as  a  mere  means  of  gratification  and 
pleasure,  but  that  we  shall  conse- 
crate these  holy  powers  to  give  life 
to  those  who  are  as  worthy  as  we 
are,  as  noble  and  as  great,  who  de- 
sire their  opportunity. 

If  you  will  do  this  you  shall  grow 
in  love  for  each  other,  you  shall 
grow  in  favor  with  God,  and  be 
laying  the  foundation  of  your  eter- 
nal kingdom.  And  if  you  shall  live 
up  to  this  high  privilege  that  is 
yours,  you  shall  attract  the  ends  of 
the  earth,  and  young  men  and 
young  women  will  come  from  afar 
and  say:  "Come,  let  us  go  up  to  the 
mountain  of  the  Lord,  to  learn  of 
this." 

As  I  have  discussed  this  theme 
with  you  young  men  and  young 
women,  my  remarks  have  been  di- 
rected to  you  very  largely.  With 
all  my  heart  I  love  you,  for  I  be- 
lieve that  you  are  the  finest  genera- 
tion of  young  men  and  young  wom- 
en that  have  ever  been  born  into 
the  world.  I  not  only  know  that  the 
Lord  has  reserved  the  men  who  laid 
the  foundation  of  this  great  latter- 
day  work,  to  come  in  this  age,  but 
He  has  reserved  you  to  come  now 
to  support  His  kingdom,  that  shall 
not  fail  and  shall  not  be  left  to  an- 
other people. 

So  I  approach  you  with  a  desire 
to  inspire  you  with  the  magnitude 
of  your  responsibilities  and  your 
privileges,  not  only  to  carry  on  the 
work  that  presently  shall  come  to 
you,  but  to  prepare  yourselves  to 
come  unto  the  hill  of  the  Lord,  to 
stand  in  His  holy  place.  I  am  sure 
there  is  no  doubt  what  that  means. 
It  means  that  some  day  we  hope  to 
be  permitted  to  come  into  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Almighty,  into  His  ce- 
lestial kingdom  in  its  highest  de- 
gree, where  we  may  be  permitted 
to  look  upon  His  face,  not  only  for 


a  moment,  but  to  be  privileged  to 
dwell  in  His  presence,  the  very 
fountainhead  of  all  light,  of  all  pow- 
er, and  of  all  truth,  forever  and 
forever. 

Young  men  and  young  women, 
talk  about  "youth  movements" — 
the  greatest  opportunity  to  make  a 
youth  movement  world-renowned 
and  glorious  is  yours.  Arise  and 
shine,  and  become  the  very  light  of 
the  world,  the  salt  of  the  earth.  The 
glory  of  God  can  be  upon  you  to 
such  an  extent  that  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  will  some  day  come  and  live 
with  such  a  people  for  a  thousand 
years. 

God  help  us,  having  found  the 
straight  gate  and  the  narrow  way, 
to  pay  the  price  to  walk  that  way 
and  come  to  the  glory  that  is  ours 
while  we  live,  and  the  exaltation 
in  the  presence  of  the  Almighty 
when  life  is  ended,  I  pray,  in  the 
name    of    the    Lord    Jesus    Christ. 

Amen. 

1  ♦  ■ 

METAMORPHOSIS 
By  Hugh  B.  Brown 

Change  alone  is  permanent,  we're  told; 
Change  is  predetermined  and  God-sent; 
Were  present  and  future  cast  in  static  mould, 
Mortal  men  could  not  be  heaven-bent. 

Our  lives  must  change  with  new  environ- 
ment; 

To  arrive,  to  stop,  were  permanently  to  die. 

To  gain  experience  we  to  mortal  life  were 
sent; 

Change  develops  wings  with  which  to  fly. 

The  butterflies   emerge   from   out  a  lowly 

state; 
Not  one  of  them,  once  formed,  would  be  a 

chrysalis  again. 
Shell-bound   forever? — a   hapless  state; 
And  yet  each  timid  one  a  chrysalis  would 

remain. 

The  unborn  babe,  if  it  could  have  its  way, 
Would  remain  forever  'neath  its  mother's 

heart; 
Cramped   and   dependent,    it  would   prefer 

to  stay 
Rather    than — through    birth — a    new    life 

start 

The  beauty  of  youth,  so  glorious  in  its  time, 
Becomes  stale  and  withered  where  there  is 

no   growth; 
The  beauty  of  age  adds  poetry  to  rhyme, 
And  change  eternal  is  an  attribute  of  both. 

Man's  body  like  a  chrysalis  is  but  a  shell; 
No  maturing  soul,  if  it  could  have  its  way, 
Would  choose  forever  in  this  mortal  house 

to  dwell: 
The  night  of  death  is  harbinger  of  day. 

Eternal  increase  is  the  crowning  truth  we 
teach; 

Stagnation,  ennui,  death  and  anti-life 

Would  be  our  lot  without  a  "grasp  exceed- 
ing reach"- — 

Change  adds  eternal  progress  to  eternal  life. 

We  fear  the  future  and  the  change  it  brings 
Because  we  do  not  understand  the  plan. 
When  thoughts  have  inspiration's  wings 
We'll  name  "eternal  increase"  God's  great- 
est gift  to  man. 

(London:  December  14th,  1939.) 


"L.  D.  S.  TRAINING  PAYS1" 

TIMES  ARE 

CHANGING— 

fiiqhL  TbwJ 

The  past  year  brought  to  the 
L.  D.  S.  Business  College  the 
greatest  demand  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  school  for  trained 
office  workers. 


If  this  demand  contin- 
ues in  the  coming  year 
— and  indications  are 
that  it  will — right  now 
is  the  time  to  begin 
your  business  career. 

Write  at  once  for  infor- 
mation about  our 
courses,  methods  o  f 
training,  1  o  w  tuition 
rates,  and  really  effec- 
tive employment  ser- 
vice. 

L.  D.  S. 
Business  College 

Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 


63 


■jJoufPaqe  and  Burs 


Glenwood,  Alberta,  Canada 
Dear  Sir: 

A  few  days  ago  I  solicited  and  received  an  Era  subscription 
from  Wallace  Leavitt,  who  is  the  son  of  Edward  Leavitt. 
When  it  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  father,  he  asked  that 
the  subscription  be  changed  to  his  name.  He  explained  that 
his  name  had  never  been  off  the  Era's  subscribers'  list  since  it 
was  first  published  and  he  wanted  it  to  stay  there  for  the  rest 
of  his  life.    He  is  now  sixty-six  years  of  age. 

Edward  Leavitt  is  to  be  congratulated  on  his  record  as  a 
subscriber  of  the  Era. 

With  deepest  respect, 

Bishop  C.  J.  Wright. 

$ 

Mr.  Ray  L.  Jones 
Logan,  Utah. 

Regarding  item  you  refer  to  about  placing  The  Improvement 
Era  in  libraries  in  wards  and  stakes  of  the  Church.  We 
appreciate  this  suggestion  very  much  and  were  just  a  little 
surprised  to  learn  that  the  Cache  Public  Library  does  not  have 
a  subscription  of  the  magazine.  We  have  a  definite  policy 
established  regarding  subscriptions  for  public  libraries.  We 
furnish  libraries  with  subscriptions  at  the  rate  of  $1.00  a  year — 
or  half  price. 

Because  of  the  large  number  of  libraries  in  the  wards  and 
stakes  of  the  Church  it  is  not  possible  for  us  to  place  them  all 
on  our  complimentary  subscription  list.  However,  we  feel  that 
perhaps  we  have  not  been  as  alert  as  we  should  have  been  in 
getting  over  the  idea  of  library  subscriptions  to  our  ward  and 
stake  Era  Directors.  We  are  going  to  try  to  correct  this 
difficulty  during  this  present  campaign  and  try  also  to  place 
as  many  subscriptions  in  libraries  as  possible. 
Thanks  again  for  your  splendid  cooperation. 
Sincerely  your  brother, 

J.  K.  Orton,  Business  Manager. 

§ 

November  14,  1940. 
Dear  Brethren: 

The  cover  of  your  November  issue  was  even  more  along  the 
Thanksgiving  line  than  was  acknowledged.  This  im- 
pressive piece  of  sculpture  stands  in  a  park  in  the  city  of 
Springfield,  Mass.  The  work  was  done  by  one  of  the  most 
outstanding  sculptors  in  this  country,  Saint  Gaudens.  It  is 
called  "The  Puritan." 


I  am  including  a  snapshot  taken  of  this  statue  with  three 
of  our  lady  missionaries  surrounding  it. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Elder  Frank  V.  Nelson, 

New  England  Mission. 
-$ 

CORRECTION 

BY  A  printer's  error,  the  cut  appearing  in  the  lower  right 
hand  corner  of  page  715  of  the  December  Era  was  inverted 
in  some  copies.  In  these  copies,  "the  stone  memorial  tablets 
of  Xerxes"  should  be  reversed  to  be  observed  properly.     If 


you  received  such  a  copy,  it  is  only  necessary  to  keep  in  mind 
that  the  white  hat  of  the  man  should  be  in  the  upper  right  hand 


corner. 


-$- 


CORRECTION 

ON  page  678  of  the  November,  1940  Era,  where  it  reads 
"Grand  Coulee,  Washington:  L.  L.  Burningham,  Coulee 
City,  Wash.,  it  should  have  read,  "GRAND  COULEE, 
WASHINGTON:  C.  William  Burningham,  Coulee  Dam, 
Wash." 

® 

"HAMBUSH" 

Two  small  British  boys  were  gazing  at  the  shop  windows 
decorated  for  Christmas.  Presently  they  came  to  a  butcher's 
shop,  and  one  of  them  pointed  to  a  number  of  hams  hanging 
from  a  large  holly  branch.  "Look,  Tom,"  he  said.  "Look  at 
them  'ams  ag  rowing  up  there." 

"Get  away,"  said  the  other.    "  Ams  don't  grow." 
"Well,  that's  all  you  know  about  it,"  said  the  first  scornfully. 
"Ain't  you  ever  'eard  of  a  'ambush?" 

PUT  AN  ELASTIC  ON  IT 

"Yes,  madam,"  the  postal  clerk  said,  "this  parcel  will  be 
all  right.  But,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  you  have  put  three  cents 
too  much  in  stamps  on  it" 

"Oh,  dear,"  the  old  lady  replied,  "how  awkward.  I  do  hope 
it  won't  be  sent  too  far." 

EXPLANATION 

"Tell  me,  papa,  what  is  a  consulting  physician?" 
"He  is  a  doctor  who  is  called  in  at  the  last  minute  to  share 
the  blame." 

HEAR!  HEAR! 

A  doctor,  an  engineer,  and  a  politician  were  arguing  over 
who  had  the  oldest  profession.  The  doctor  said:  "Of  course, 
medicine  is  the  oldest.  Mankind  has  always  had  physicians, 
and  they  are  even  mentioned  in  the  Bible." 

"That  is  nothing,"  said  the  engineer.  "The  Good  Book 
tells  how  the  world  was  created  out  of  chaos,  and  how  could 
there  be  any  order  brought  out  of  chaos  without  an  engineer?" 

"Yes,"  said  the  politician,  "and  who  do  you  think  created 
chaos?" 

BEGINNING  EARLY 

New  bridegroom:  "You  know,  darling,  in  our  wedding 
ceremony  yesterday,  I  promised  to  cherish  you.  What  does 
that  really  mean?" 

New  bride:  "Why,  honey,  that  simply  signified  your 
willingness  to  wash  the  dishes,  dust  the  house,  do  the  laundry, 
etc.,  whenever  I'm  tired  or  busy  or  out  calling." 

WE'VE  ALL  HEARD  HIM 

All  through  the  football  game  he  had  yelled  and  cheered  the 
home  team  to  victory,  then  suddenly  grew  silent.  Turning 
to  the  man  next  to  him  he  whispered,  hoarsely,  "I've  lost  my 
voice." 

"Don't  worry,"  was  the  reply,  "you'll  find  it  in  my  left  ear." 

LEARN  AMERICAN  FIRST 

School  days  are  here  again,  which  reminds  us  of  the  man 
who  was  walking  down  the  street  in  Richmond,  Virginia,  and 
on  passing  a  group  of  young  colored  girls  on  their  way  to  a 
seat  of  learning,  overheard  one  girl  ask  of  another:  "7s  yuh 
did  yuh  Greek?" 

POST  MORTEM  POSTSCRIPT 

Mr.  Bronson  died  very  suddenly  and  an  important  business 
letter  was  left  unmailed. 

Before  sending  it  off,  his  secretary,  who  had  a  passion  for 
explanatory  detail,  added  the  following  postcript  below  Mr. 
Bronson's  signature: 

"Since  writing  the  above  I  have  died." 


64 


^TWO-CYLINDER  engine  design! 
-*-  For  seventeen  years  this  exclusive 
John  Deere  feature  has  been  making 
tractor  history  .  .  .  helping  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  million  owners  of 
John  Deere  tractors  to  cut  their  costs 
...  to  do  their  work  easier,  faster, 
better. 

You  need  only  to  talk  with  John 
Deere  owners  to  learn  of  operating 
costs  almost  unbelievably  low.  Many 
are  plowing  for  as  little  as  9  cents  an 
acre  for  fuel  .  .  .  cultivating  for  1-1/2 
to  2-1/2  cents  an  acre  .  .  .  doing  all 
their  jobs  at  proportionately  low  cost. 

But  the  ability  to  burn  the  low-cost 
fuels    successfully    and    efficiently    is 


only  one  advantage  of  John  Deere 
two-cylinder  engine  design.  It  makes 
possible  the  straight-line  transmis- 
sion with  no  bevel  gears  to  consume 
power  .  .  .  the  belt  pulley  on  the  crank- 
shaft .  .  .  the  proper  distribution  of 
weight  for  better  traction  in  difficult 
field  conditions  .  .  .  the  fewer  and 
heavier  parts  that  last  longer  .  .  .  the 
easy,  simple  maintenance,  much  of 
which  you  can  do  yourself. 

Combined  with  all  these  outstand- 
ing mechanical  advantages  in  the 
John  Deere  you  have  an  equally  im- 
pressive array  of  operating  features — 
an  unexcelled  view  of  the  work  ahead 
and  on  both  sides  of  the  tractor  at  all 


times  ...  a  handy  clutch  that  you  can 
operate  while  standing  up,  sitting 
down,  or  from  the  ground  . . .  smooth, 
responsive  steering  .  .  .  foot-con- 
trolled differential  brakes  for  short 
turns  and  safe  stopping  ...  a  hydraulic 
power  lift  ...  a  roomy  platform. 
(Self-starter  and  lights  available  for 
Models  "A",  "B",  and  "D".) 

Own  a  John  Deere  and  make  your 
work  easier,  cut  your  costs,  save  time 
and  work.  Among  the  nineteen  mod- 
els in  six  power  sizes,  there's  one  that 
will  fit  your  needs  to  a  "T".  Ask  your 
John  Deere  dealer  to  arrange  a  demon- 
stration. For  more  complete  informa- 
tion by  mail,  use  the  coupon  below. 


Partners  in  Profit 

Available  for  John  Deere  gen- 
eral purpose  tractors  is  a  com- 
plete line  of  integral  equipment 
.  .  .  equipment  that  does  a  better 
job  .  .  .  that  plants  more  accurate- 
ly ..  .  fertilizes  more  safely  .  .  . 
cultivates  more  thoroughly  .  .  . 
harvests  more  efficiently  ...  in 
short,  that  does  the  kind  of  job 
that  insures  bigger  profits. 


JOHN 


More  powerful,  more  economical, 
sturdier  is  the  new  Model  "B"  for  '41. 
Handles  a  2-bottom  plow  in  practi- 
cally any  condition.  For  larger  farms 
there  is  the  2-3-Plow  Model  "A"  and 
the  full  3-Plow  Model  "G". 


TRACTORS 


FOR     ECONOMY...  SIMPLICITY 
DEPENDABILITY  ...  EASE     OF     HANDLING 


For  the  small  farm  or  to  replace  the 
last  team  on  the  large  farm,  there  is 
the  low-cost,  1-2-Plow  Model  "H" 
which  cultivates  two  rows,  shown 
here  with  a  Model  "H"  Tractor- 
Drawn  Spreader. 


John  Deere,  Moline,  Illinois.  Dept.  G-150 

Tell  me  more  about  the  advantages  of  John  Deere 
two-cylinder  tractors.  I  have  checked  the  models  in 
which  I'm  particularly  interested. 

□  l-Plow"L"        Dl-2-Plow"H"     D2-Plow"B" 
D2-3-Plow"A"    n3-PIow"G"     □  Orchard  Models 

□  Standard  Tread  Models  for  field  and  belt  work 

Name 

Town 

State R.F.D..... 


O    K    I    N    G 


wt 


B    A    C 
SJ niutdnee 


Retracing  life's  footsteps  will  always  be 
a  joy  to  your  family  if  you  have  had  the 
foresight  to  protect  them  with  Bene- 
ficial Life  Insurance! 


.;■*  : 


**' 


MHMI 


»jMa£ia 


Heber  J.  Grant,  Pres. 


Salt  take  City.  Utah 


-^kk